As Australia burns, attitudes are changing. But is it too late?

Guardian: This summer, life in Australia resembles a compulsory and very unpleasant game of Russian roulette. A pool of hot air more than 1,000 miles wide has formed across the inland. It covers much of the continent, and has proved astonishingly persistent. Periodically, low pressure systems spill the heat towards the coast, where most Australians live. At Christmas it was Perth. Then the heat struck Adelaide, followed by Tasmania, Victoria, and southern New South Wales and Canberra. Over this weekend, it's...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/11/australia-burns-attitudes-changing-too-late
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/1/11/1357922110019/Phil-Disley-12012013-008.jpg

There's a price to be paid for our cheap food

Observer: The world is throwing away a shocking amount of food. A report last week claimed that at least a third of the 4 billion tonnes of food the world produces each year never gets as far as our mouths. Between 30% and 50% of food purchased in Europe and the US is thrown away. The research is questioned, not least by the supermarkets, but it does echo the results of an exercise in Britain six years ago, when researchers for the government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) went through...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/13/price-to-be-paid-cheap-food

Has Rupert Murdoch turned into a climate change sceptic?

Independent: There must have been some heads in hands at the New York HQ of the self-proclaimed "first global media company to achieve carbon neutral". Executives at News Corp have spent several years building the company's green credentials, under the guidance of Rupert Murdoch, only for the founder and executive chairman to suggest it may have all been a waste of time and money. "World growing greener with increased carbon," the media mogul wrote on Twitter last Sunday. "Thirty years of satellite evidence....

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/has-rupert-murdoch-turned-into-a-climate-change-sceptic-8448688.html

Shell Violated Air Permits for Arctic Ships, E.P.A. Says

New York Times: The Environmental Protection Agency says that Shell committed numerous violations of the air pollution permits for its two Arctic drill ships, adding to the company's catalog of Alaskan offshore woes. The agency said late Thursday that the drill ships, the Noble Discoverer and the Kulluk, had repeatedly allowed excess nitrogen oxides to escape during the abbreviated 2012 drilling season last summer and fall. The violations were discovered during E.P.A. inspections and through Shell's self-reporting...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/shell-violated-air-permits-for-arctic-ships-e-p-a-says/
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/01/11/blogs/kulluk/kulluk-articleInline.jpg

United Kingdom: No wind farms, no food, warns Sir Ian Wilmut

Scotsman: A WORLD-famous scientist has warned that future generations of Scots could suffer ­serious food shortages unless people accept wind farms as a "necessary evil". Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, the creator of the world's first cloned sheep, Dolly, said that turbines were vital to reducing the carbon emissions blamed for global warming and an ­increase in flooding which is destroying food crops. Writing for Scotland on Sunday today, Wilmut says the connection must be made between the record rainfall...

URL: http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/no-wind-farms-no-food-warns-sir-ian-wilmut-1-2734690

Report: Climate change triggers extreme weather

Politico: Human activities play a primary role in causing climate change, and evidence is mounting that those changes will lead to more frequent extreme weather events, according to a major draft report released Friday. The draft of the third National Climate Assessment comes as the Northeast continues to recover from devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy and just days after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 2012 was the hottest year on record in the contiguous United States. The...

URL: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/report-climate-change-triggers-extreme-weather-events-86067.html?hp=l6
Enclosure: http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/

Climate change set to make America hotter, drier and more disaster-prone

Guardian: Future generations of Americans can expect to spend 25 days a year sweltering in temperatures above 100F (38C), with climate change on course to turn the country into a hotter, drier, and more disaster-prone place. The National Climate Assessment, released in draft form on Friday , provided the fullest picture to date of the real-time effects of climate change on US life, and the most likely consequences for the future. The 1,000-page report, the work of the more than 300 government scientists...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/11/climate-change-america-hotter-drier-disaster
Enclosure: http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/

A Nuclear Post-Mortem for Sandy

New York Times: The operators of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant, the reactor that declared an "alert" during Hurricane Sandy, made several small errors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Friday. But an inspection team has concluded that "performance was acceptable and that emergency action level declarations were timely." The operators kept control room logs in a way that safety inspectors found hard to decipher later, and at one point, they took a wind level reading off the wrong sensor on their meteorological...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/a-nuclear-post-mortem-for-sandy/
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/01/11/blogs/oyster/oyster-blog480.jpg

The Link Between Global Warming, Sea Levels And Volcanoes

Forbes: Rising seas pose some of the biggest emerging challenges to the world, as coastal urban areas face higher water and dangerous storms, protected only by weak, sometimes crumbling 20th-century flood defenses. But sea level rise, largely the result of manmade climate change, may have effects that go far beyond catastrophic flooding: a new paper shows how higher water may lead to increased volcanic activity. Let's get this out of the way: this isn't going to cause any immediate problems. Governments...

URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmcquaid/2013/01/09/the-link-between-global-warming-sea-levels-and-volcanoes/?ss=business:energy
Enclosure: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/johnmcquaid/files/2013/01/210x3002.jpg

Climate change report: Seas rising, heat waves ahead

USA Today: Climate change is already affecting how Americans live and work, and evidence is mounting that the burning of fossil fuels has roughly doubled the probability of extreme heat waves, the Obama administration said Friday. "Sea level is rising, oceans are becoming more acidic, and glacier and Arctic Sea ice are melting," says a draft of the third federal Climate Assessment Report, compiled by more than 240 scientists for a federal advisory committee. "These changes are part of the pattern of global...

URL: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/11/climate-change-altering-usa/1827501/
Enclosure: http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/01/11/ap-climate-poll-4_3_r536_c534.jpg?1b79b3da202957124496e3768cfb7b67cdb10c81

Yoko Ono, in Albany, Raises Her Voice Against Hydraulic Fracturing

New York Times: For months they have been descending on Albany: farmers, environmentalists, latter-day hippies and placard-bearing parents. But on Friday, the forces against hydraulic fracturing, a method for drilling for natural gas, brought to Albany a face and a voice familiar to the world: Yoko Ono. Ms. Ono — along with her son, Sean Lennon, who came with her — has a personal connection to the issue. She and her husband, John Lennon, bought a farm in the Catskills, and she and Sean want to prevent the drilling,...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/nyregion/yoko-ono-in-albany-raises-her-voice-against-hydraulic-fracturing.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/01/12/nyregion/YOKO/YOKO-articleLarge.jpg

Canada: Climate Change May Have Confused, Trapped Killer Whales

Voice of America: A pod of killer whales trapped in the ice of Canada's Hudson Bay successfully has left the small opening where they were gasping for breath, but marine specialists say global warming could cause more incidents like this. Lyne Morissette, a marine researcher with the St. Lawrence Global Observatory in Quebec, said the 12 orcas may simply have gotten lost while hunting for seals and other food, but it's more likely they got stuck in the ice because of climate change. "They tend to base their...

URL: http://www.voanews.com/content/canada-killer-whales-climate-change/1582342.html
Enclosure: http://av.voanews.com/kaltura-test/VOA/VOA_-_English/mp4/2013/01/1_9lj2ckh5_1_lv4o3epb.mp4

Wildfires across Australia and the US's hottest year on record: the heat that's making history

Telegraph: Confused? You have every right to be. On just one day this week, it was reported that the heatwave that has lit wildfires across Australia is so unprecedented that two new colours have had to be added to weather forecasting maps; that 2012 had been by far the hottest year on record in the United States; that the blue-chip World Economic Forum had identified climate change as one of the world's most urgent dangers; and that, nevertheless, the Met Office had concluded that global warming had stalled....

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/9795953/Wildfires-across-Australia-and-the-USs-hottest-year-on-record-the-heat-thats-making-history.html

Report: Climate change already affecting US economy, people

Kansas City Star: A new report warns that climate change driven by human activity already is affecting the American people and economy, with more frequent and intense heat waves, heavy downpours and, in some places, floods and droughts. A draft version of the National Climate Assessment that was released Friday warns that as the Earth continues to warm because of increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the health and livelihoods of many Americans and the ecosystems that sustain the country face...

URL: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/11/4006223/report-climate-change-already.html
Enclosure: http://media.kansascity.com/smedia/2013/01/11/17/34/7-rVibj.St.91.jpeg

Nation already feeling backlash of unchecked climate change

News Journal: A new national report flatly declared Friday that global climate change "is already affecting the American people" – making seasons hotter and drier, whipping up more furious storms and floods and threatening global ecosystems and every aspect of human activity. "Evidence for climate change abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans," said the draft National Climate Assessment, which is issued every four years. In an opening to the 1,146-page document, described as...

URL: http://www.delawareonline.com/needlogin?type=login&redirecturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.delawareonline.com%2Farticle%2F20130112%2FNEWS%2F301120053%2FNation-already-feeling-backlash-unchecked-climate-change%3Fnclick_check%3D1
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From Corn Belt To Main Street: The Drought's Far-Reaching Grasp

National Public Radio: The U.S. had its hottest year on record last year. That heat, combined with the relatively dry winter that came before, has brought a historic drought. From forest fires and low crop yields, to infrastructure and recreation, the drought has been costly, with early estimates putting the cost at between $50 billion and $80 billion. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared a disaster area in more than 1,000 counties, and now the drought is hitting America's most important waterway - the...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/12/169233553/from-corn-belt-to-main-street-the-droughts-far-reaching-grasp?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013/01/12/drought_kansas_wide-72a6e40aa1c8c9fb63ee3163f6e30001424a06dd-s4.jpg

US scientists in fresh alert over effects of global warming

Guardian: Global warming is already having a major impact on life in America, a report by US government scientists has warned. The draft version of the US National Climate Assessment reveals that increasing storm surges, floods, melting glaciers and permafrost, and intensifying droughts are having a profound effect on the lives of Americans. "Corn producers in Iowa, oyster growers in Washington state and maple syrup producers have observed changes in their local climate that are outside of their experience,"...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/12/us-scientists-effects-global-warming
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2013/1/12/1358016136318/Victims-Of-Superstorm-San-010.jpg

New Federal Report: Climate Change is Really, Really Scary

Mother Jones: Say what you want about the Obama administration's relative ignoring of climate issues: Many of his top scientists are paying rapt attention, and they think we're about to get our butts kicked--although dumping the news at 4pm on a Friday gives some indication of where it sits in federal priorities. The National Climate Assessment is produced by the US Global Change Research Program, which is tasked with collating climate research from a wide variety of federal agencies and, every few years, distilling...

URL: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/01/new-federal-climate-report-gear-walloping
Enclosure: http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/

Top Australian climate scientist: Heat wave ‘encroaching on entirely new territory’

Mother Jones: Australia`s top government-appointed climate commissioner says this week`s heat wave is occurring amid record-breaking weather around the world. "This has been a landmark event for me," professor Tim Flannery told Climate Desk from his home in Melbourne. "When you start breaking records, and you do it consistently, and you see it over and over again, that is a good indication there`s a shift underway - this is not just within the normal variation of things." Flannery is perhaps best known in the...

URL: http://grist.org/climate-energy/top-australian-climate-scientist-heat-wave-encroaching-on-entirely-new-territory/
Enclosure: http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/australia-forest-fires-new-south-wales-rural-fire-service.jpg?w=250&h=156

Geothermal takes a technological step forward

San Francisco Chronicle: Geothermal energy developers working on the flanks of an ancient Oregon volcano say they have taken an important technological step toward expanding geothermal energy from a small niche into a potential major source of homegrown power, but more work needs to be done. AltaRock Energy, Inc., of Seattle, says the data is still being analyzed, but they are confident they have created three geothermal reservoirs from a single well where none existed before. The breakthrough solves two problems holding...

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Geothermal-takes-a-technological-step-forward-4189106.php

Road protests return: a new generation takes on the bypass builders

Guardian: It's not yet 4pm but the sun is setting at Combe Haven. As it sinks below the winter landscape, its last rays illuminate the scene unfolding in the trees overhead. Half a dozen young men and women, their faces mostly concealed by scarves, are perched on the branches of a big, old oak tree, securing the ropes that support a wooden platform they have suspended between it and another oak. They are discussing how best to hang an enormous net that has been donated by the fishing fleet at Hastings a...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/12/combe-haven-green-protesters-trees
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2013/1/11/1357927492754/Combe-Haven-Defenders-008.jpg

Australia: Climate-change denial feels the heat

Sydney Morning Herald: Scepticism about climate change in Australia may be something else that will melt during the nation's great heatwave. ''There's a powerful climate change signal in extreme weather events in Australia,'' said Joseph Reser, an adjunct professor at Griffith University's school of applied psychology. ''The current heatwave is outside people's experience.'' A study released by the university and co-written by Professor Reser found Australians were more ready to accept climate change was happening...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climatechange-denial-feels-the-heat-20130112-2cmhu.html
Enclosure: http://images.smh.com.au/2013/01/12/3948681/art-hot-620x349.jpg

Bushfires rage on in Australia 'helped' by climate change

BBC: Australian firefighters are continuing to tackle more than 100 bushfires, which have gutted houses and thousands of hectares of land. Officials say temperatures are lower than feared, but gusty winds are making it hard to contain the blazes in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Six people have been treated for heat exposure, but nobody has died. A government commission says the heatwave and fires have been exacerbated by global warming. "Climate change is increasing the risk of more...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20997139
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65154000/gif/_65154058_heat_map624x420.gif

Severe Weather in the Middle East - Another Result of a Changing Climate?

Environmental News Network: Severe weather is pummeling the Middle East. Latest reports puts the death toll at dozens. I'm fresh back from a trip to my family's two homesteads: the USA, where we toured New Jersey's hurricane-battered shoreline, and the UK, where new lakes of rainwater cover Cotswolds' fields and the British Meteorological Office declared the highest annual precipitation since they began keeping records. An exceptional spate of extreme weather events? Or is this climate change? (I'll duck under my keyboard so...

URL: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/45444?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/45444-1.jpg/medium

Federal report links man-made emissions to 'unambiguous' changes in U.S. life, landscape

Greenwire: Man-made climate change is already altering the way Americans live and work, according to a new federal report that projects the country could warm another 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to rise. "Evidence for climate change abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans," says the report, the third national assessment of climate change impacts in the United States. "The sum total of this evidence tells an unambiguous...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2013/01/11/1

Judge tosses Alaska polar bear habitat designation

Anchorage Daily News: A federal judge in Alaska has thrown out a plan designating more than 187,000 square miles as habitat for threatened polar bears. U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline, in a written order dated Thursday, said the designation was too extensive and presented "a disconnect between the twin goals of protecting a cherished resource and allowing for growth and much needed economic development." He sent the matter back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to correct "substantive and procedural deficiencies."...

URL: http://www.adn.com/2013/01/11/2749604/judge-vacates-polar-bear-habitat.html

Will the Mercury Treaty Negotiations Reduce Mercury Poisoning Around the World?

EcoWatch: Delegates arrived at the Geneva International Conference Center this morning for regional meetings before tomorrow's start of the mercury treaty negotiations. Most of these regional meetings were closed. Of those that were open, the news is that European Union, Central Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific support the name of "Minamata Treaty." But will they ensure that the treaty will be sufficient to prevent mercury poisoning from occurring around the world? At a lunchtime panel, world-renowned Professor...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2013/mercury-treaty-negotiations/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/mercurymap1.jpg

How Australians survive the raging bushfires

Agence France-Presse: Dozens of out-of-control fires have burnt vast tracts of Australia, destroying homes and crops and killing animals, but not a single person has died. The success of the operation to safeguard lives has much to do with a detailed guide to surviving bush blazes, along with an official danger rating system that was introduced after 173 people perished in the 2009 Black Saturday firestorm. In addition the Rural Fire Service (RFS) is extremely proactive in promoting safety precautions and warns...

URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iPCEu0jc8llmm0KoPwEOjOgkUkSA
Enclosure: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5iyIF9KfyfSgnZ1ISfSZfEJf555bA?docId=photo_1357902513865-1-0&size=l

Climate panel says coast, midwest at risk of extreme weather

Bloomberg: Average U.S. temperatures may jump as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 Celsius) in the coming decades, and efforts to combat the effects are insufficient, a government advisory panel on climate change said. The 60-member panel approved and released a draft report today that says many coastal areas face "potentially irreversible impacts" as warmer temperatures lead to flooding, storm surges and water shortages. "The chances of record-breaking, high-temperature extremes will continue to increase...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-11/climate-panel-says-coastal-areas-at-risk-from-extreme-weather.html
Enclosure: http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/draft-report-information

Federal Scientists Detail Stronger Evidence of Global Warming in National Climate Assessment

EcoWatch: A map depicts temperature changes over the past 20 years, compared to the average between 1901 and 1960. "The period from 2001 to 2011 was warmer than any previous decade in every region," according to the National Climate Assessment. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released its draft National Climate Assessment on Jan. 11, just a week after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the U.S. experienced its warmest year on record. According to the Letter...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2013/global-warming-climate-assessment/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/map.jpg

Climate change initiative hits home

Delmarva Now: Now that 2012 has officially been declared the hottest year on record and second-worst in extreme weather events, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's executive order dealing with how the state reacts to climate change appears timely. "Climate Change and Coast Smart Construction Executive Order" addresses the state's challenge of dealing with rising sea levels and flooding from storms. It enacts a number of policy directives including directing state agencies to consider the risk of flooding and sea...

URL: http://www.delmarvanow.com/needlogin?type=login&redirecturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.delmarvanow.com%2Farticle%2F20130112%2FWCT01%2F301120027%2FClimate-change-initiative-hits-home%3Fnclick_check%3D1

The greenest office building in the world is about to open in Seattle

Fast Company: Seattle's Bullitt Center is being heralded as the greenest, most energy-efficient commercial office building in the world. It's not that the six-story, 50,000-square-foot building is utilizing never-before-seen technology. But it's combining a lot of different existing technologies and methods to create a structure that's a showpiece for green design--and a model for others to follow. A project of the Bullitt Foundation, a Seattle-based sustainability advocacy group, the Bullitt Center has an...

URL: http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681160/the-greenest-office-building-in-the-world-is-about-to-open-in-seattle#1
Enclosure: http://www.fastcoexist.com/multisite_files/coexist/imagecache/slideshow-large/slideshow/2013/01/1681160-slide-madison-update-bullitt-center.jpg

Report: Virginia must lead in fighting sea-level rise

Virginian-Pilot: Virginia needs to get serious about rising sea levels and frequent flooding and take the lead in combatting the problems that threaten the allure of living and doing business on the coast, according to a report distributed this week to state lawmakers. The report is hardly the first time that scientists have laid out the enormous stakes of sea level rise - especially in low-lying regions such as Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore, which flood almost every time it rains. But the 135-page document...

URL: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/01/report-virginia-must-lead-fighting-sea-level-rise

Cuomo greets findings of Hurricane Sandy commission

Associated Press: A commission formed to examine ways to guard against storms like Hurricane Sandy, which caused extensive damage on the east coast of the United States in October, has called for flood walls in subways, water pumps at airports and sea barriers along the coast. The commission's findings were officially released Friday by the office of governor Andrew Cuomo of New York State, who formed the commission. The report recommends short- and long-term protections in transportation and with building codes....

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/12/andrew-cuomo-hurricane-sandy-commission
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2012/10/31/1351679853093/Flooding-at-the-South-Fer-013.jpg

US study warns of extreme heat, more severe storms

Agence France-Presse: A government report warned the United States could face more frequent severe weather including heat waves and storms for decades to come as temperatures rise far beyond levels being planned for. The draft Third National Climate Assessment, a scientific study legally mandated to advise US policymakers, made few bones that carbon emissions have been causing climate change -- a source of controversy among some lawmakers. "Evidence for climate change abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the...

URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hoUDgxShW0SJ_s7ewsp1V24_mKyw

Major report warns climate change could raise temperatures by 10 degrees

The Hill: A major draft federal report concludes that climate change is already affecting U.S. residents through heat waves, droughts and other changes, and warns that temperatures could increase as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit if global carbon emissions keep soaring. The third National Climate Assessment, released Friday, said there's "unambiguous evidence" that earth is warming, and that climate change over the past 50 years is driven primarily by human activity, especially from burning fossil fuels....

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/276769-federal-report-finding-unambiguous-warming-fuels-calls-for-tougher-action
Enclosure: http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/

Australia fights hundreds of fires, heat

United Press International: Firefighters battled roaring blazes in extreme hot weather Saturday as hundreds of wildfires blackened parts of southeastern Australia, officials said. The danger was said to be serious in Victoria and Tasmania but New South Wales has so far had the worst of the fires, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Firefighters worked through the night to combat more than 100 bush fires in that state as hot, gusty conditions are forecast for Sunday. More than 100 firefighters were working a...

URL: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/01/12/Australia-fights-hundreds-of-fires-heat/UPI-79591358003930/

Sanders pushes bill to address climate change

Associated Press: Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders says the warmest year on record in the United States and in Vermont has persuaded him it's time to get serious about climate change. The independent lawmaker says he plans to introduce legislation that would include a tax on greenhouse gas emissions from the biggest polluters, more money for energy efficiency and clean energy research and development. He says the measure also would end tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuels. Sanders' announcement follows...

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Sanders-pushes-bill-to-address-climate-change-4188734.php

California cold snap threatens $2 billion citrus harvest

Reuters: An Arctic air mass has sent temperatures plunging across California, threatening the state's lucrative citrus harvest, its winter vegetables and its more cold-sensitive strawberry crop, weather and agricultural experts said on Friday. Temperatures throughout the state fell by as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) below normal on Thursday and Friday as snowfall and sub-freezing conditions forced a 17-hour closure of a key highway, Interstate 5, through the mountains north of Los...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-usa-weather-california-idUSBRE90A13C20130112

Samoans urged to move away from coast and riverbanks

Radio Australia: Samoans are going to be urged to move their homes away from the coastline and riverbanks as a result of Cyclone Evan. That's according to the country's prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele. He says the impact of the storm was severe, and lessons learned now have to be acted on, or Samoa will continue to suffer weather damage in future. The prime minister says the initial phase of the disaster is over, but the long term cleanup will take a while. Presenter: Bruce Hill Speaker: Samoa's prime minister,...

URL: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/samoans-urged-to-move-away-from-coast-and-riverbanks/1072822
Enclosure: http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/ra/MOD/RA_Podcast/PAB_SAMOA%20LESSONS%20TUILAEPA_20130111.mp3

Coal loses crown as king of power generation

National Public Radio: Just a few years ago, Georgia Power generated nearly three-fourths of its electricity with coal. Last year, for the first time, natural gas edged out coal, and just this week the company announced plans to close 10 coal-fired power generators within the next few years. "We do recognize this is a historic event for our company. We've never announced this many closings at one time," says Mark Williams, a company spokesperson. If all goes as planned, within a few years only a third of the company's...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/11/169153322/coal-loses-crown-as-king-of-power-generation
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=169153322&m=169177742

Roads melt, gas evaporates in Australia's unprecedented heat wave

National Public Radio: Australia has been experiencing a record setting heat wave. Melissa Block speaks with Dr. Karl Braganza, manager of climate monitoring at the Bureau of Meteorology's National Climate Centre in Australia, about why this is happening, and how Australians are coping. MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: All over Australia - Alice Springs, Adelaide, Sydney, Wagga Wagga - it's been an extremely hot summer and it's expected to get hotter. The continent is experiencing a record-breaking heat wave. Roads have melted...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/11/169172194/roads-melt-gas-evaporates-in-australias-unprecedented-heat-wave
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=169172194&m=169172179

Insuring for climate change

Living on Earth: 2012 Was the hottest year ever recorded in the United States as well as one of the most costly in terms of weather disasters like Hurricane Sandy. Ernst Rauch, head of the Corporate Climate Center for reinsurance company Munich Re tells host Steve Curwood that insurance companies are taking note of an increase in claims as a result of climate change. Transcript CURWOOD: From the Jennifer and Ted Stanley Studios in Boston, this is Living on Earth. I'm Steve Curwood. Well, it's official: 2012...

URL: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00002&segmentID=1
Enclosure: http://www.loe.org/content/2013-01-11/insuring-for-climate-change.mp3

U.S. will be 2-4 degrees hotter in coming decades, new climate report says

National Public Radio: Temperatures will continue to rise in America, "with the next few decades projected to see another 2 degrees [Fahrenheit] to 4 degrees [Fahrenheit] of warming in most areas," according to the latest National Climate Assessment, which came out Friday afternoon. That means we can expect to see more "extreme weather events," according to the report, such as heavy precipitation - particularly in the Northeast and Midwest - and intense Atlantic hurricanes. Other parts of the U.S. will experience heat...

URL: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/01/11/169179282/u-s-will-be-2-4-degrees-hotter-in-coming-decades-new-climate-report-says
Enclosure: http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment

Australia: Record heat, low rain leave regions 'primed' to ignite

Sydney Morning Herald: A LEADING weather researcher says Australia's great heatwave this year and low rainfall have left some regions ''primed to go''. The weather bureau's rainfall maps for the past three months show virtually all the southern and eastern parts of the country have posted below or very-much-below average rainfall. And the past fortnight of record-breaking heat across much of the continent meant fuel loads in bushfire areas were ''trumping the situation'' due to lowering moisture levels, said Jeff...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/record-heat-low-rain-leave-regions-primed-to-ignite-20130111-2clb3.html
Enclosure: http://images.smh.com.au/2013/01/11/3947137/art-bushfire2-620x349.jpg

Australia: Heatwave exacerbated by climate change says Climate Commission

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: A new report from the Federal Government's Climate Commission says the heatwave and bushfires that have affected Australia this week have been exacerbated by global warming. The report - Off the Charts: Extreme Australian Summer Heat - warns of more extreme bushfires and hotter, longer, bigger and more frequent heatwaves, due to climate change. It says the number of record heat days across Australia has doubled since 1960 and more temperature records are likely to be broken as hot conditions...

URL: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-01-12/heatwave-exacerbated-by-climate-change-climate-commission/1073018
Enclosure: http://climatecommission.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/CC_Jan_2013_Heatwave4.pdf

Report says warming is changing US daily life

Associated Press: Global warming is already changing America from sea to rising sea and is affecting how Americans live, a massive new federally commissioned report says. A special panel of scientists convened by the government issued Friday a 1,146-page draft report that details in dozens of ways how climate change is already disrupting the health, homes and other facets of daily American life. It warns that those disruptions will increase in the future. "Climate change affects everything that you do," said...

URL: http://www.wbtv.com/story/20566629/federal-report-warming-is-changing-us-daily-life
Enclosure: http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/

Introducing ... Frontline Online A weekly round up of action from the grassroots

Ecologist: There's little good environmental news coming from Canada these days, but two recent stories buck this trend. The 'Idle No More' movement consisting of Canada's First Nations people has organized the biggest Indigenous mass mobilization in recent history to highlight what they consider to be an all out assault on Indigenous rights, in particular, recent alterations to Bill C-45 which removes environmental protection and erodes long-standing treaties with First Nations people under the Indian Act....

URL: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1762463/introducing_frontline_online_a_weekly_round_up_of_action_from_the_grassroots.html
Enclosure: http://www.theecologist.org/siteimage/scale/800/600/351413.png

Experts Fear Collapse of Global Civilisation

Inter Press Service: Experts on the health of our planet are terrified of the future. They can clearly see the coming collapse of global civilisation from an array of interconnected environmental problems. Poor communities are hit hardest by extreme weather events. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS "We`re all scared," said Paul Ehrlich, president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. "But we must tell the truth about what`s happening and challenge people to do something to prevent it," Ehrlich told...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/experts-fear-collapse-of-global-civilisation/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2013/01/flood_wading_400.jpg

Experts Fear Collapse of Global Civilisation

Inter Press Service: Experts on the health of our planet are terrified of the future. They can clearly see the coming collapse of global civilisation from an array of interconnected environmental problems. Poor communities are hit hardest by extreme weather events. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS "We`re all scared," said Paul Ehrlich, president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. "But we must tell the truth about what`s happening and challenge people to do something to prevent it," Ehrlich...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/experts-fear-collapse-of-global-civilisation/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2013/01/flood_wading_400.jpg

World Bank REDD+ forest carbon fund gets $180m injection

Mongabay: The World Bank's forest carbon fund got a $180 million injection from Finland, Germany and Norway, reports Point Carbon. The bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is providing funding to develop and implement Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) projects in three dozen tropical countries, now had $650 in its coffers. According to the World Bank, the FCPF consists of two funds: The Readiness Fund (about US$260 million) currently provides grant financing...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0111-world-bank-carbon-fund.html
Enclosure: http://mongabay.s3.amazonaws.com/sabah/600/sabah_aerial_1639.jpg

Impact of climate change hitting home, US report finds

Reuters: The consequences of climate change are now hitting the United States on several fronts, including health, infrastructure, water supply, agriculture and especially more frequent severe weather, a congressionally mandated study has concluded. A draft of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, released on Friday, said observable change to the climate in the past half-century "is due primarily to human activities, predominantly the burning of fossil fuel," and that no areas of the United States were...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/climate-usa-study-idUSL1E9CBCPA20130112

Climate change is heating up the US, national report warns

Washington Post: A federal advisory panel released a draft report Friday on how Americans can adapt to a changing climate, a more than 1,000 page tome that also sums up what has become increasingly apparent: The country is hotter than it used to be, rainfall is becoming both more intense and more erratic, and rising seas and storm surges threaten U.S. coasts. The draft of the third National Climate Assessment warns that with the current rate of global carbon emissions, these impacts will intensify in the coming...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-change-underway-in-us-report-says/2013/01/11/b5ec843e-5c23-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html
Enclosure: http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/12/05/Interactivity/Images/AP98945217068.jpg

Climate change doesn’t have to be all bad

Reuters: This week the National Climate Data Center confirmed what most had long believed: 2012 was the warmest year on record for the United States. Ever. And not just a bit warmer: a full Fahrenheit degree warmer than in 1998, the previous high. In the land of climatology statistics, that is immense. In the understatement of one climate scientist, these findings are "a big deal." Almost every news story reporting on this juxtaposed the record with a series of disruptive climate events, ranging from the...

URL: http://blogs.reuters.com/edgy-optimist/2013/01/11/climate-change-doesnt-have-to-be-all-bad/
Enclosure: http://blogs.reuters.com/edgy-optimist/files/2013/01/RTR3ACT6.jpg

Record Set for Days Without a Tornado-Related Death

Climate Central: While the contiguous U.S. suffered through its second-most extreme weather year on record since 1910, with a litany of extreme events from scorching heat waves to parching drought affecting the country from coast-to-coast, there was one type of deadly and damaging severe weather that was notably missing: tornadoes. According to statistics from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., 2012 had the fewest tornadoes since 1954, using adjusted figures to account for changes in tornado detection...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/us-sets-record-for-days-without-a-tornado-related-death-15452?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/news_andrew_tornadograf2012-500x310.jpg

America's warmest year

Charleston Gazette: Industrial and political leaders in coal-dominated West Virginia generally shrug off global warming, or even call it imaginary. They won't admit that greenhouse fumes from coal-burning are heating the planet. So they'll probably stay silent about news that America just suffered its hottest year in history. Federal climate scientists announced Tuesday that 2012 set a heat record for the continental United States -- 3.2 degrees above normal, and a stunning 1 degree higher than the previous record....

URL: http://wvgazette.com/Opinion/Editorials/201301100120

The post-crisis crises

Al Jazeera: As we struggle with today's crises, we should ask if we are responding in ways that exacerbate our long-term problems. Last Modified: 11 Jan 2013 06:38 Email Print Share Send Feedback Despite economic slowdown, retrofitting the global economy to deal with climate change should be priority [Reuters] In the shadow of the euro crisis and America's fiscal cliff, it is easy to ignore the global economy's long-term problems. But, while we focus on immediate concerns, they continue to fester, and we...

URL: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/20131912427364937.html
Enclosure: http://ext-vttts-us.readspeaker.com/cgi-bin/nph-voicetext/e5c3862bd72c0db7059370c26bd81534/Aljazeera_Joseph_E_Stiglitz_20131912427364937_Fri__11_Jan_2013_06:39:03_GMT.mp3

USDA Declares Winter Wheat Belt Drought Disaster Area

Climate Central: On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared 597 counties across 14 states natural disaster areas as a result of the ongoing drought that threatens the winter wheat crop. These are the first drought-related natural disaster declarations of the year, and mark the second year in a row that such measures were necessary due to the drought event, which is the worst such event since the 1950s. Overall drought impacts across the continental U.S. improved slightly this week, due to mild...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/usda-declares-winter-wheat-belt-drought-disaster-area-15449?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
Enclosure: http://www.climatecentral.org/images/uploads/news/1-10-13-DanYawitz-droughtMonitor-1-8-13.jpg

United Kingdom: David Cameron is irresponsible to omit climate change from his G8 priorities

Guardian: It's one of greatest threats to global stability, yet climate change is nowhere to be found in the UK's G8 priorities. The World Economic Forum published its Global Risks report this week, outlining what its analysis suggests are the biggest risks facing global economic stability in 2013. At the top of the list is inaction on climate change, alongside disparities in income and the failure of governments to reduce their debts. As the report points out, the fact that the top three risks are...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/jan/11/david-cameron-climate-change-g8
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/6/25/1277482286864/David-Cameron-G8-006.jpg

Treaty 'insufficient' to reduce global mercury levels

Guardian: Even as government negotiators from around the world prepare to gather next week for a final round of talks on a new international treaty limiting the use of mercury, scientists and activists are warning that the draft treaty is both too weak and too limited in scope to have a major impact. "Based on what's happened so far, based on the draft text, we have strong doubts that the treaty will actually be sufficient to reduce global levels of mercury in fish and seafood," Joe DiGangi, a science and...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/11/treaty-mercury
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/1/9/1357759060309/Minamata-disease-in-Japan-008.jpg

Bangladesh: Bengali Forest Could Perish Along With Bengal Tiger Because Of Climate Change

RedOrbit: A new report by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) states that human development and global temperature rise is threatening one of the world's most precious forest systems. The Bengali Forest is disappearing at a record pace and taking along with it, species that may be found nowhere else on Earth. Rapid deterioration of the mangrove forests in the Sundarbans has resulted in as much as 650 feet of coast disappearing in a single year. The report, published in today's issue of Remote Sensing,...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112762256/bengal-tiger-forest-threatened-climate-011113/
Enclosure: http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2013/01/mangrovetree.jpg

The Political Economy of Climate Change

CounterPunch: By reports, 2012 was the warmest year in recorded history in the U.S. The last decade was the warmest on record globally. Even for those arguing other hypotheses also fit the warming climate, the consistency of warming, the joint probability in statistical terms, must give pause because the consequences are (1) very far along already and (2) potentially catastrophic in excess of previous human experience. Alternative hypotheses not only need to be plausible in a general sense, they require specific...

URL: http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/01/11/the-political-economy-of-climate-change/

Water grabbing occurring at 'alarming rates'

SciDevNet: Deals in which rich foreign corporations and countries buy or lease agricultural land abroad result in nearly half a trillion cubic metres of fresh water also being grabbed each year -- often enough to grow sufficient food to abate undernourishment in the 'grabbed countries', a paper reveals. The majority of land grabbing takes place in Africa and Asia, and the amount of grabbed water per capita often exceeds the water requirements needed to provide a balanced diet to residents in the grabbed nations,...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/news/water-grabbing-occurring-at-alarming-rates-.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment
Enclosure: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/01/02/1213163110.abstract

EU to revive debate on minimum energy tax levels

Reuters: EU officials are to debate a new set of tax proposals to promote clean fuel and erode fiscal advantages that have made diesel relatively cheap, a document seen by Reuters showed. The Commission has long been seeking to change energy taxation, but some member states have repeatedly thwarted progress and are likely to continue to do so. Taxation law in the European Union requires the unanimity of all 27 member states, which is almost impossible to achieve. Luxembourg, for instance, has been...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-eu-energy-tax-idUSBRE90A0QH20130111?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Gov. Cuomo pledges to flood-proof New York's subway system, raise regional carbon emissions cap

ClimateWire: Dealing with climate change and protecting New York City from future superstorms featured high on the list of priorities during Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address yesterday in Albany. Cuomo, a Democrat, said he would work to make coastal areas and New York Harbor more resilient to climate change and storm surges thought to be intensified by the warming planet and rising seas. He also promised quick action to protect New York City's subway system against flooding during future storms...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2013/01/10/2
Enclosure: http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/01/10/photo_cw_01.jpg

Risk experts see climate change as one of the world's biggest business threats

ClimateWire: Risk experts are concerned that the twin threats of economic upheaval and accelerating climate change could collide over the next decade, delaying crucial adaptation efforts while exposing nations to unpredictable financial loss from disasters. The World Economic Forum describes this "super storm" of risks as a top hazard to the global economy through 2022 as world and corporate leaders prepare for an annual summit in Switzerland later this month. Tougher resilience will be a key theme -- not...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2013/01/10/1

Salinization of rivers: A global environmental problem

ScienceDaily: The salinisation of rivers is a global problem that affects to countries all over the world and it causes a high environmental and economic cost, and poses a high risk to global health. Climate change and the increasing water consumption can worsen even more the future scene, according to an article published on the journal Environmental Pollution based on the research developed by an international team led by the experts of the Department of Ecology of the University of Barcelona Narcís Prat and...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130111092529.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/01/130111092529-large.jpg

The Changing Newsroom Environment at The New York Times

New York Times: There`s been a flurry of blog, Facebook and Twitter shock and anger following Katherine Bagley`s exclusive report for Inside Climate News on the decision by The New York Times to shut down its standalone environment "pod" and redistribute that able team of reporters and editors to other desks (not necessarily other duties). In the piece, top Times editors insist that this move will not diminish or dilute the paper`s commitment to sustained, effective environmental coverage. I believe them (with...

URL: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/the-changing-newsroom-environment/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/01/11/blogs/dotnewsroom/dotnewsroom-blog480.jpg

Global warming slows but beware complacency

Reuters: The latest forecasts from a foremost climate research institute that global warming has slowed present a new challenge to policymakers on how to inject urgency into the campaign to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. Climate change is a growing problem. Each year in the past decade has been hotter than the 1981-2010 average, and extreme heat waves are becoming more frequent. But the research indicates the rate of warming has slowed in the past decade and a half due to temporary natural factors....

URL: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130111/column-global-warming-slows-beware-complacency-gerard-wynn

Apple Delves Deeper into Renewable Energy, Offers Wind Energy Storage Concept


Technology continues to change and expand faster than most consumers can keep up with – but many try their best. And the company that is arguably the most popular and innovative – the one that techies follow like groupies to a rock star – is Apple. But with each new feature, iTunes, iCloud, Apps, and more, comes a greater need for power, which is why Apple is hard at work to find renewable solutions for its ever-growing energy needs.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/apple-delves-deeper-into-renewable-energy-solutions?cmpid=rss

Solar Water Heaters in Lebanon: An Emerging $100 Million Market


The very first solar water heating system installation in Lebanon probably goes back to the seventies of the last century. Few solar water heaters (SWH) were installed in the eighties, yet talking about a "market" for solar water heaters became accurate by the early 1990's. However, SWH's were not on to a successful start. In 2008, only some 25 companies were involved in this market, still in its infancy stage.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/solar-water-heaters-in-lebanon-an-emerging-100-million-market?cmpid=rss

Australia races to control fires as new heat wave looms

BBC: Fire crews are tackling dozens of bushfires in south-east Australia, as forecasters predict another spell of hot weather for the weekend. More than 100 separate fires are burning in New South Wales. Some 3,000 sq km of land has been razed. One of the fires is encroaching on a disused army range littered with unexploded bombs, though fire crews are confident they can tackle the blaze. Dozens of homes have been destroyed, but no-one is believed to have died. Wildfires plague Australia most...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20967410
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65196000/jpg/_65196548_holmesap.jpg

Energy Efficiency: Big Deals and New Ideas


The economic premise behind energy efficiency — that it's cheaper to save a unit of energy than to make one — has caught on in the US.  Energy efficiency spending is up, and our energy use is declining, measured both per capita and per dollar of gross domestic product, according to government figures.  So it is not surprising to see the year begin

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/01/energy-efficiency-big-deals-and-new-ideas?cmpid=rss

IRENA: Shale-Gas Boom Can Complement Renewables to Cut Coal


boom in shale-gas extraction, the technique that made the U.S. the top producer of the fuel, would complement growth in renewables because both curb use of dirtier commodities, the International Renewable Energy Agency said.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/irena-shale-gas-boom-can-complement-renewables-to-cut-coal?cmpid=rss

Throwing our food away: Up to 50% of the food produced worldwide is wasted

Mongabay: A new report titled "Global food, waste not, want not" published by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers has found that 30 to 50 percent of all food produced in the world never reaches a stomach. The authors of the study warn that these figures are quite conservative. The large amounts of land, energy, fertilizers and water that are wasted in the food production have not been accounted for. In developing countries this waste is mostly due to inefficient harvesting methods, poor storage and transportation...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0110-gandiaga-food-waste.html
Enclosure: http://travel.mongabay.com/laos/600/laos_1376.jpg

Epic heat, wildfires are scorching Australian landscape

Environment Health: An exceptional heat wave and associated spate of wildfires have scorched the Australian landscape during the past two weeks, with Monday ranking as Australia's hottest day on record. According to the Associated Press and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the national average temperature on Monday was a sizzling 104.6°F. That eclipsed the previous mark of 104.3°F set in 1972. Temperatures were so hot this week that BOM meteorologists had to add two new colors to their weather maps, with...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/epic-heat-and-wildfires-torch-australia-15444
Enclosure: http://www.climatecentral.org/images/uploads/news/1_9_13_andrew_bomnewcolor.jpg

China Working to Cut Idled Wind Farm Capacity


China, the world's biggest carbon emitter, is making progress in connecting idled wind farms to the electricity grid, helping to address a roadblock slowing the development of wind power.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/china-working-to-cut-idled-wind-farm-capacity?cmpid=rss

Can Kazakhstan Green Its Economy?


Kazakhstan is a major oil producer with abundant reserves of hydrocarbons in an energy-hungry region. So some people may be surprised to know that we are committed to building a green economy as part of the process to equip Kazakhstan to be a competitive industrial player.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/can-kazakhstan-green-its-economy?cmpid=rss

Florida Innovates with Its Eucalyptus and Citrus for Biomass Production


By taking full advantage of both its natural subtropical climate and its own citrus resources, Florida's fledgling biomass energy sector looks to be finally coming into its own.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/florida-innovates-with-its-climate-and-citrus-for-biomass-production?cmpid=rss

Coffee dregs: world supplies threatened by climate change

Channel 4 News: Wake up and smell the coffee: it might not be around that much longer. Scientists are warning that climate change means supplies could dry up in a matter of decades. At last, scientists believe, a threat which could wake people up to the realities of climate change. The warming planet is threatening the survival of the world's most popular coffee crop, with yields already at a 34-year low. It could all start running dry within decades. According to this week's New Scientist, a coffee drought...

URL: http://www.channel4.com/news/coffee-dregs-world-supplies-threatened-by-climate-change
Enclosure: http://www.channel4.com/media/images/Channel4/c4-news/2013/Jan/10/10_coffee_g_w_LRG.jpg

Climate change on the coast: Buyer-beware option considered

News Journal: A state committee said Thursday the public should consider whether property owners selling inside boundaries where seas are predicted to rise will have to disclose that vulnerability to potential buyers. This would be a significant step beyond the existing rule of requiring sellers to disclose to buyers that properties reside in designated flood zones, based largely on historic flood and storm surge records. Sea-level rise disclosures, in contrast, would focus on predictions about areas, now dry,...

URL: http://www.delawareonline.com/needlogin?type=login&redirecturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.delawareonline.com%2Farticle%2F20130111%2FNEWS08%2F301110053%2FClimate-change-coast-Buyer-beware-option-considered%3Fnclick_check%3D1
Enclosure: http://cmsimg.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20130111&Category=NEWS08&ArtNo=301110053&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Climate-change-coast-Buyer-beware-option-considered

Climate change causing headaches for winemakers

Bloomberg: Terraced vineyards meander along the Douro River in Portugal. The hillsides allow Port producers to plant in higher or lower elevations depending on weather. (Fladgate Partnership Vinhos S.A)To paraphrase Shakespeare, in the vineyards of the world, something worrisome this way comes. Over the last decade, global warming has started affecting those narrow zones best suited for growing wine grapes. Warmer temperatures are a mixed blessing for winemakers. In colder climates like Bordeaux and Burgundy,...

URL: http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_22340976
Enclosure: http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2013/0109/20130109_050301_climate-change-causing-headaches-winemakers_300.jpg

Groups collect cases of comments on NY gas regs

Associated Press: As Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration nears completion of regulations that could lift a 4 1/2-year-old ban on shale gas drilling in New York, opposition groups have ramped up efforts to persuade the governor to say no to fracking. Environmental, health and community groups opposed to shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," say they collected more than 200,000 comments during an intense 30-day effort featuring online coaching and comment-writing workshops at churches, community...

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Groups-collect-cases-of-comments-on-NY-gas-regs-4185226.php

China Working to Cut Idled Wind Farm Capacity, Official Says

Bloomberg: China, the world's biggest carbon emitter, is making progress in connecting idled wind farms to the electricity grid, helping to address a roadblock slowing the development of wind power. "The issue is in the process of improvement, given the efforts made by grid companies," Jiang Liping, vice president of the State Grid Energy Research Institute, said in a phone interview on Jan. 10, without disclosing the connection rate. The adoption of wind power in China has been damped by the electricity...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-11/china-working-to-cut-idled-wind-farm-capacity-official-says.html

Canada: Native Canadians Could Block Energy Development, Chief Warns

Reuters: Native Canadians are so angry that they could resort to blocking resource development and bring the economy "to its knees" unless the Conservative government addresses their grievances, an influential chief said on Thursday. Native Canadian chiefs are due to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday to discuss the poor living conditions facing many of Canada's 1.2 million aboriginals. "We have had enough. Our young people have had enough. Our women have had enough ... . We have nothing...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/canada-aboriginals-idUSL1E9CA8AQ20130110

New York Times Dismantles Its Environment Desk

Inside Climate News: The New York Times will close its environment desk in the next few weeks and assign its seven reporters and two editors to other departments. The positions of environment editor and deputy environment editor are being eliminated. No decision has been made about the fate of the Green Blog, which is edited from the environment desk. "It wasn't a decision we made lightly," said Dean Baquet, the paper's managing editor for news operations. "To both me and Jill [Abramson, executive editor], coverage...

URL: http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130111/new-york-times-dismantles-environmental-desk-journalism-fracking-climate-change-science-global-warming-economy?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/newyorktimesbuilding.jpg

Samoa PM ponders change forced by climate change

Radio New Zealand International: Samoa's Prime Minister says the government has learned lessons from the devastation caused by tropical cyclone Evan. The storm, responsible for the deaths of five people and the disappearance of 11 others, caused widespread damage on the main island of Upolu when it hit a month ago. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says as the effects of climate change worsen, the regularity and severity of events like cyclone Evan will increase. "It is not a good story for most of us in the islands. We need to...

URL: http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=73325

United States: The True Weight Of Water

National Public Radio: Part of the nation's physical landscape is changing. Nature writer and commentator Craig Childs has been watching the dramatic transformation of a mighty river that is running dry. Small porpoises once swam in the brackish estuaries of the Colorado River delta. Jaguars stalked the river channels and marshes. It's not like that any more, though. The Colorado River no longer reaches the sea in Northern Mexico. It hasn't since 1983. I sometimes travel through that dry Mexican country on foot....

URL: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/11/167720177/the-true-weight-of-water?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/12/20/craigchildsdesert-5ced5770a03942b03d1f135b455995df2398a621-s2.jpg

Do Australia's bushfires emit more carbon than burning coal?

Guardian: "Indeed I guess there'll be more CO2 emissions from these fires than there will be from coal-fired power stations for decades." – acting Opposition leader, Warren Truss, January 9, 2013 On Wednesday, leader of the National Party and acting Opposition Leader, Warren Truss claimed carbon emissions from the current bushfires are equivalent to decades of carbon emissions from coal-fired power. The current bushfires are so large that the statement by Warren Truss seems plausible. This spurred...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/jan/11/australias-bushfires-carbon-burning-coal
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2013/1/8/1357637363949/Australian-bushfires-cont-014.jpg

Japan seeks to reverse commitment to phase out nuclear power

Guardian: Almost two years after the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi power plant sent shockwaves around the world, Japan's government is attempting to resell the nuclear dream to a traumatised public. Japan appeared to have ended its addiction to nuclear power when the previous centre-left government pledged last year to phase out all of the country's 50 working reactors by 2040. The announcement marked a dramatic shift from pre-Fukushima plans to increase Japan's dependence on nuclear from 30%...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/11/japan-reverse-nuclear-phase-out
Enclosure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS1uDnIPTvo

Exterior Insulation Is Like A Sweater For Your House

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A layer of rigid foam will keep your wall sheathing warm and dry

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There are many construction and insulation approaches which allow a builder to create walls and ceilings with high R-values and low levels of air leakage, creating a much better envelope than is achieved with standard framing methods. Structural insulated panels (SIPs), insulated concrete forms (ICFs), double-stud walls, and advanced framingHouse-framing techniques in which lumber use is optimized, saving material and improving the energy performance of the building envelope. can all produce more energy-efficient buildings than the ol' stick-built number.

The one thing they can't do is to improve the efficiency of an existing house.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/exterior-insulation-sweater-your-house

Sea level rise may eclipse 3 feet by 2100, study finds

Environment Health: By Andrew Freedman Follow @afreedma A new assessment that gauges the views of leading ice sheet experts finds that scientists think global sea level rise during this century may be far more significant than previously thought, possibly eclipsing 1 meter, or 3.3 feet, by 2100. Such a sharp rise in sea level would inundate heavily populated coastal areas around the world, potentially forcing the relocation of 187 million people, the study said. The new report adds to a growing body of evidence...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/sea-level-rise-may-eclipse-three-feet-by-2100-study-finds-15435
Enclosure: http://www.climatecentral.org/images/uploads/news/1_8_13_andrew_greenlandtemps.jpg

NOAA: 2012 hottest & 2nd-most extreme year on record

Environment Health: By Andrew Freedman Follow @afreedma It's official: 2012 was the warmest year on record in the lower 48 states, as the country experienced blistering spring and summer heat, tinderbox fire weather conditions amid a widespread drought, and one of the worst storms to ever strike the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2012 had an average temperature of 55.3°F, which eclipsed 1998, the previous record holder, by 1°F. That was just...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/noaa-2012-was-warmest-and-second-most-extreme-year-on-record-15436
Enclosure: http://youtu.be/SIJGW1HYxsA

What next for the Green Climate Fund after Doha dud?

RTCC: For those of us (wonks, admittedly) interested in the fate of the Green Climate Fund – potentially the most important multilateral institution to deal with climate change in the near future – the outcome of 2012 Doha climate summit was a disappointingly mixed bag. The 194 countries assembled there made promising statements about the importance of the fund in the international climate financing architecture and outlined their work for the year ahead. But by refusing to make any firm commitments...

URL: http://www.rtcc.org/what-next-for-the-green-climate-fund-after-doha-dud/
Enclosure: http://www.rtcc.org/files/2013/01/cop18-final-day-doha-flickr-unfccc-466px.jpg

Washout 2012 drains fruit and vegetables of vital nutrients

Environment Health: Washout 2012 drains fruit and vegetables of vital nutrients and may make them taste differently | Mail Online Home U.K. Home News Sport U.S. Showbiz Femail Health Science Money RightMinds Travel Columnists News Home Arts Headlines Pictures Most read News Board Login Find a Job M&S Wine Our Papers Feedback Friday, Jan 11 2013 12PM 50°F 3PM 50°F 5-Day Forecast Washout 2012 drains fruit and vegetables of vital nutrients and may make them taste differently Heavy rain is being...

URL: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2259682/Washout-2012-drains-fruit-vegetables-vital-nutrients-make-taste-differently.html
Enclosure: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/01/09/article-0-0179CEC50000044D-73_634x406.jpg

Hundreds of US counties labeled disaster areas due to drought

Environment Health: Hundreds of U.S. counties labeled disaster areas due to drought - CNN.com SET EDITION: U.S. INTERNATIONAL MÉXICO ARABIC TV: CNN CNNi CNN en Español HLN Sign up Log in Home TV & Video CNN Trends U.S. World Politics Justice Entertainment Tech Health Living Travel Opinion iReport Money Sports Sports Bleacher Report Sports Illustrated Print Email More sharing Hundreds of U.S. counties labeled disaster areas due to drought By CNN Staff updated 8:25 PM EST, Wed...

URL: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/us/drought/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Enclosure: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/01/09/article-0-0179CEC50000044D-73_634x406.jpg

Lower nitrogen losses with perennial biofuel crops

ScienceDaily: Perennial biofuel crops such as miscanthus, whose high yields have led them to be considered an eventual alternative to corn in producing ethanol, are now shown to have another beneficial characteristic -- the ability to reduce the escape of nitrogen in the environment. In a 4-year University of Illinois study that compared miscanthus, switchgrass, and mixed prairie species to typical corn-corn-soybean rotations, each of the perennial crops were highly efficient at reducing nitrogen losses, with...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130110121030.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/01/130110121030-large.jpg?1357838303

NREL and Stanford Team up on Peel-and-Stick Solar Cells


It may be possible soon to charge cell phones, change the tint on windows, or power small toys with peel-and-stick versions of solar cells, thanks to a partnership between Stanford University and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/nrel-and-stanford-team-up-on-peel-and-stick-solar-cells?cmpid=rss

Paradigm shift needed to avert global environmental collapse

Mongabay: Global strategist, trained educator, and international lecturer Daniel Rirdan set out to create a plan addressing the future of our planet. His book The Blueprint: Averting Global Collapse, published last year, does just that. "It has been a sixty hour a week routine," Rirdan told mongabay.com in a recent interview. "Basically, I would wake up with the burden of the world on my shoulders and go to sleep with it. It went on like this for eighteen months." It becomes apparent when reading The...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0110-kimbrough-rirdan-interview.html
Enclosure: http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0110.shutterstock_102265663.568.jpg

Icelandic volcanoes could help to power UK via subsea Scottish cable

Scotsman: ICELAND has offered to become a "green battery" for the UK by building the world`s longest subsea power cable, which could bring geothermal energy ashore in Scotland. Icelandic state electricity producer, Landsvirkjun, said yesterday that it was considering constructing a 1,000km link by around 2020 to supply electricity generated by its vast volcanic energy resources direct to Britain. An earlier proposal to connect Iceland's electricity grid with the UK would have come ashore north of the...

URL: http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/environment/icelandic-volcanoes-could-help-to-power-uk-via-subsea-scottish-cable-1-2728494
Enclosure: http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.2728493.1357775595!image/1617043710.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/1617043710.jpg

Leaked Report Confirms Human-Induced Climate Change

Scientific American: A rogue reviewer posted a draft this week of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's next report, in a bid to promote climate change denial. Instead the draft reaffirms humanity's starring role in global warming, which, along with sea level rise is now "unequivocal." Also human caused CO2 increases are now "virtually certain" to be responsible for trapping extra heat. And it is "extremely likely that human activities have caused more than half of the observed increase in global average surface...

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=leaked-report-confirms-human-induce-12-12-16
Enclosure: http://podcast.sciam.com/earth/sa_e_podcast_121216.mp3?CFID=93824704&CFTOKEN=2d646abefbad550f-7620F006-00A1-359A-018C19E95B7397FE

Concern as mercury emissions grow

BBC: Developing nations are facing growing health and environmental risks from increased exposure to mercury, according to a UN report. It says a growth in small-scale mining and coal burning are the main reasons for the rise in emissions. As a result of rapid industrialisation, South-East Asia is the largest regional emitter and accounts for almost half of the element's annual emissions. The findings appear ahead of a meeting that aims to cut global demand by 2015. The Global Mercury Assessment...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20972620#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Enclosure: http://www.unep.org/PDF/PressReleases/Mercury_TimeToAct.pdf

Warmer Winters Threaten Smaller Ski Areas

Daily Climate: The scene is something no ski resort operator wants to see early in the season: Sunlight glaring off the sloppy snow pooling like dirty mashed potatoes at the base of the high-speed six-person chairlift. The thermometer at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in western Massachusetts reads 59 degrees Fahrenheit on this mid-November day, and Brian Fairbank, president and CEO of Jiminy Peak, is convinced the remaining snow will keep. A northern exposure, aggressive snowmaking during the prior week's...

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=warmer-winters-threaten-smalled-ski-areas
Enclosure: http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/warmer-winters-threaten-smalled-ski-areas_1.jpg

Up to half of world's food goes to waste, report says

Reuters: Up to half of all the food produced worldwide ends up going to waste due to poor harvesting, storage and transport methods as well as irresponsible retailer and consumer behavior, a report said on Thursday. The world produces about four billion metric tons of food a year but 1.2 to 2 billion metric tons is not eaten, the study by the London-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers said. "This level of wastage is a tragedy that cannot continue if we are to succeed in the challenge of sustainably...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-food-waste-idUSBRE9090TN20130110?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Perfect global storm developing warns World Economic Forum

Royal Gazette: A major systemic financial failure. Extreme weather patterns. A water supply crisis. Food shortages. Weapons of mass destruction. Stark income disparity. Cyber attacks. Those are just a few of the major risks to the global economy this year, according to a report released this week by the World Economic Forum. With nations already coping with rising economic strains while staring in face of increasing environmental concerns, the WEF report says the world could soon find itself in the eye of "the...

URL: http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20130110/BUSINESS04/701109977
Enclosure: http://www.royalgazette.com/storyimage/RG/20130110/BUSINESS04/701109977/AR/0/AR-701109977.jpg?q=100

Let's learn from past efforts to fight hunger

SciDevNet: Campaigners for food security must include science in their goals -- and in return scientists need to heed wider concerns around solutions. 2013 is set to be a big year for global development. At least this is the hope of civil society groups in the United Kingdom. Their positivity matters because the UK Prime Minister David Cameron is co-convener of the UN's High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda, which is set to deliver its report by May. The UK has also just taken on chairpersonship...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/editorials/let-s-learn-from-past-efforts-to-fight-hunger.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment
Enclosure: http://c96267.r67.cf3.rackcdn.com/agricMali_flickr_Curt_Carnemark_World_Bank_1357835492091_1.jpg

Along Big Muddy, the Warning Signs of Climate Change are Clear

Huffington Post: When officials confirmed this week that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the contiguous U.S., it came as no surprise to anyone who walked through the cauterized corn fields of America's breadbasket last summer, talking to farmer's traumatized by the searing 100-degree heat that seemed to have no end. But last year's record heat continues to have repercussions. I witnessed that on a family trip last month to St. Louis, where the mighty Mississippi River is shrinking to record levels from...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rocky-kistner/along-big-muddy-the-warni_b_2448766.html
Enclosure: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8508/8366811060_931c2672f0.jpg

China To Add 49 GW of Renewables in 2013, Solar Stocks Soar


Chinese solar stocks led the first advance in the benchmark index of U.S.-traded shares this week on prospects domestic demand for alternative energy will rise after the government increased capacity targets.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/01/china-to-add-49-gw-of-renewables-in-2013-solar-stocks-soar?cmpid=rss

Australia: Weather watchers look to red-hot outback town to predict temperatures

Sydney Morning Herald: IT'S perhaps no accident the tiny outback town of Meekatharra is an early warning site for the Bureau of Meteorology's weather watchers as they plot what's ahead for Australia's great summer of heat. Believed to mean "place of little water" in the local indigenous language, Meekatharra has been a place of little relief when it comes to scorching temperatures. On Tuesday, the town in the mid-west region of Western Australia hit 47.1 degrees, smashing its previous maximum temperature by 1.4 degrees...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/weather-watchers-look-to-redhot-outback-town-to-predict-temperatures-20130109-2cgv4.html