Is Fracking Wastewater Being Dumped into Coal Mines in Western Pennsylvania?

EcoWatch: In the January cold, Ken Dufalla's hands, chapped and raw, shake as he grips a five-foot metal pole with a small, stained plastic container attached and dunks it into the icy, orange-colored water rushing into Ten Mile Creek. Chuck Hunnell, an Izaak Walton League water tester, holds a container used to pull water from streams and mine discharges. Members of the conservation group voluntarily test water for contaminants. Photo by Natasha Khan "Even the ice is turning color! You ever seen red...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2013/fracking-wastewater-coal-mines/
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Keystone XL moves to centre stage of Washington political drama

Beacon News: President Barack Obama`s State of the Union clarion call for action on environmental issues has put climate change at centre stage in the U.S. capital _ and the Keystone XL pipeline is once again playing the role of the villain. As the Government Accountability Office added climate change to its list of "high risk" fiscal issues that threaten big costs to taxpayers, two liberal U.S. senators introduced legislation Thursday aimed at putting a price on carbon. The bill from Bernie Sanders, an...

URL: http://beaconnews.ca/blog/2013/02/keystone-xl-moves-to-centre-stage-of-washington-political-drama/
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Updated: New York Times rejects Tesla claim Model S test was "faked"

BusinessGreen: The New York Times journalist whose critical review kick-started a row between Tesla and the paper has defended the original article after the electric car manufacturer released data that cast doubt over his claims about the car's performance. John Broder published a blog post yesterday addressing Tesla founder Elon Musk's allegations that a tracker in the car showed the Model S he was driving did not run out of power as reported in the original review, had been driven faster than Broder said,...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2244215/new-york-times-rejects-tesla-claim-model-s-test-was-faked?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Updated%3A+New+York+Times+rejects+Tesla+claim+Model+S+test+was+%22faked%22

Case of alleged rogue fracker exposes need for tougher laws in Ohio

Plain Dealer: The good news is that appalled state and federal officials were lightning fast in investigating and prosecuting the case of Ben Lupo, owner of Hardrock Excavating and other fracking-related companies in the Mahoning Valley. Lupo was charged last week with a criminal violation of the federal Clean Water Act for allegedly telling an employee to dump liquid fracking waste and oil-laced mud into a stormwater drain leading to a tributary of the Mahoning River. He faces up to three years in prison and...

URL: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/02/case_of_alleged_rogue_fracker.html
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Question Mark: Baby Boomers Produce Highest Carbon Emissions

New York Times: You may not carry a laptop case made out of recycled fixed-gear bicycle tires. And it has probably been a while since you used yak dung to heat your home. But, hey, you're an environmentalist. At least, that's what you and your fellow boomers tell those pollsters whenever they ask. So why is your carbon footprint bigger than the footprint of the T. rex that turned into the oil you're using in your Prius? When researchers tried to calculate carbon dioxide emissions by age group in the United States,...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/booming/baby-boomers-produce-highest-carbon-emissions.html

Fifth of reptiles facing extinction

BBC: The Zoological Society of London says nearly a fifth of the world's reptiles are facing extinction. In a study of reptiles including crocodiles, lizards, snakes, tortoises and turtles, researchers found that half of freshwater turtles are close to extinction while the jungle runner lizard may already have died out. Dr Monika Bohm, lead author of the paper written with the IUCN Species Survival Commission, spoke to BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast.

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21473618#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Obama’s Climate Call May Hasten EU Carbon Fix, IETA Chief Says

Bloomberg: President Barack Obama's call for Congress to act on climate change may embolden European Union policy makers to fix the bloc's ailing carbon market, said the president of the International Emissions Trading Association. A proposal for stricter emissions rules in northeast America may also provide the impetus for EU nations to tackle the oversupply of carbon allowances in the world's biggest cap- and-trade market, Dirk Forrister, president of the Geneva-based lobby group, said yesterday. EU...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-15/obama-s-climate-call-may-hasten-eu-carbon-fix-ieta-chief-says.html

Relationship Explored Between Climate Change And Severe Weather

RedOrbit: This morning, Donald Wuebbles, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, presented his talk, "Severe Weather in the United States Under a Changing Climate", at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. Wuebbles drew his inspiration for his talk not only on the data showing a lopsided representation of record high temperatures to record low temperatures over the past several decades, but he also focused...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112785320/climate-change-cause-severe-weather-relationship-021513/
Enclosure: http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2013/02/shutterstock_33177658-617x416.jpg

Report: Weather satellite gap, climate change among biggest threats facing Federal government

Washington Post: Every two years the Government Accountability Office highlights the top 30 challenges facing the Federal government on its "high risk list'. A looming gap in the coverage of weather satellites and climate change are the newest additions to this list says the GAO in a report released Thursday. The satellite risk Polar-orbiting satellites scan the globe in pole-to-pole loops and feed important data into models for weather forecasting. But a gap in their coverage is possible starting as soon as...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/report-weather-satellite-gap-and-climate-change-among-federal-governments-biggest-threats/2013/02/15/fd811f78-77a6-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_blog.html
Enclosure: http://youtu.be/G_AhV6DwfYw

Brazilian Ethanol in the Slow Lane to Global Market

Inter Press Service: Following a promising start, Brazil`s dream of positioning ethanol in the global market on an equal standing with petroleum-based fuels is hindered by new and old challenges. Brazil`s goal of expanding ethanol sales across the world will only be attained when there are "more countries in a position to buy and supply," noted Eduardo Leão de Sousa, director of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Union (UNICA), an organisation that represents the country`s top sugar and ethanol producers. Brazil...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/02/brazilian-ethanol-in-the-slow-lane-to-global-market/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2013/02/sugarcane_640-629x472.jpg

Green car startup Fisker aims to secure foreign partner in weeks

Reuters: Fisker Automotive has received serious offers from at least three overseas automakers willing to invest in and partner with the cash-strapped U.S. hybrid maker, which hopes to finalize a deal within weeks, people familiar with the matter said. Potential suitors for the green-car startup include at least two Chinese automakers and one European company, two sources said. Fisker is hoping to sew up a deal by mid-March, another source said. Fisker is looking to raise between $200 million and $300...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/16/us-autos-fisker-idUSBRE91F00X20130216?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29

Canada: Keystone for climate: Could Obama craft a horse trade?

Fuel Fix: President Barack Obama`s pledge to combat climate change - even as his administration weighs a verdict on the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline - has some analysts buzzing about a possible horse trade. The possible deal could go down like this: First, Obama`s EPA proposes greenhouse gas emission standards for existing power plants, to the delight of environmentalists who note that the largest single stationary source of pollution is from coal-fired facilities already in use. Then, the...

URL: http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/02/15/keystone-for-climate-could-obama-craft-a-horse-trade/
Enclosure: http://fuelfix.com/files/2013/02/ScreenShot2013-02-15at3.52.27PM-306x210.jpg

Weather forecasts at risk over budget cuts

Climate Central: Automatic budget cuts set to take effect March 1 could add to the woes of the federal government's troubled weather satellite programs, jeopardizing future forecasts, a top official said Friday. "It's not going to be pretty,' outgoing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said of the package of across-the-board spending cuts known as "sequestration.' "The sequester has the potential to wreak havoc with so many different things, and satellites loom large within...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/noaa-head-weather-forecasts-at-risk-over-budget-cuts-15621
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Canada: Rinkwatchers and citizen climate science

Living on Earth: Backyard skating rinks are as common in Canada as basketball hoops in the United States. But now, global warming is threatening this Canadian tradition. In response, a group of scientists has started a website called Rinkwatch.org. Living on Earth's Emmett FitzGerald reports on this effort to turn backyard skaters into citizen scientists and make climate change relevant to every day Canadians. Transcript CURWOOD: And now, some Canadian scientists are turning skaters like those into citizen...

URL: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00007&segmentID=4
Enclosure: http://www.loe.org/content/2013-02-15/rinkwatchers-and-climate-change.mp3

India: Delayed rain in India has adverse impact on crop pattern

Times of India: The Friday rain turned the weather pleasant, but brought enough reasons for UP farmers to get worried. Late by an average seasonal trend, these rains are associated with the phenomenon of climate change marked by a shift in the onset of winter from last week of October to December. Besides, spells of dense fog seem a thing of past, though this year has been an exception. "Earlier, there was a long spell of dense fog and then mild winter rains had its impact on the crops", says Ram Avadh, gram...

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Delayed-rain-has-adverse-impact-on-crop-pattern/articleshow/18522209.cms

Climate change to reduce Mt. Hood snow

Portland Tribune: Enjoy Mount Hood skiing and snowboarding while you can -- your children and grandchildren may not get the same chance. Oregon's winter tourism industry is imperiled by climate change and diminishing snowfall patterns, according to a recent study. It could be that within 50 years, only the upper ski areas of Mt. Hood will be available for snow sports, says Angus Duncan, chairman of the Oregon Global Warming Commission. "If you look at some of the time-series photos of the glaciers on Mount Hood...

URL: http://portlandtribune.com/sl/128420-climate-change-to-reduce-mt-hood-snow
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Ann Arbor lawmakers call for action on climate change

AnnArbor.com: Three state lawmakers from Ann Arbor went on record this week raising concerns about global warming and together issued a call for action on climate change. Their comments came as dozens of climate change experts gathered for the National Climate Assessment town hall at the University of Michigan. "The science is clear: global warming is a growing problem, and it's not going away," said state Rep. Adam Zemke, D-Ann Arbor. "Local, state and national leaders must act now to take the necessary...

URL: http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-lawmakers-call-for-action-on-climate-change/

Boxer, Sanders introduce bill to require carbon tax payment by fossil fuel producers

Bloomberg: Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a sweeping climate change bill Feb. 14 that would require several thousand coal, oil, and gas producers to pay a $20-per-ton carbon fee, which the two senators touted as a simpler alternative to the Democrat-led, economywide, cap-and-trade approach that collapsed in the Senate in 2010. Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said she plans to move the Climate Protection Act of 2013 (S. 332) through...

URL: http://www.bna.com/boxer-sanders-introduce-n17179872397/
Enclosure: http://op.bna.com/env.nsf/r?Open=smiy-94wplq

The top 10 hardest-hit states for crop damage

Climate Central: The searing U.S. drought of 2012 devastated the nation's corn crop, pushing yields down in some states to their lowest levels in nearly 30 years. According to recently-released numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Missouri, Illinois and Indiana were among the hardest hit Corn Belt states, with yields at 28-, 26-, and 22-year lows, respectively. To put the severity and impact of the 2012 U.S. drought in context, the top 10 hardest-hit states for crop damage are illustrated in...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/the-top-10-hardest-hit-states-for-crop-damage-15619
Enclosure: http://www.climatecentral.org/images/uploads/news/2-15-13-Alyson-crops_table.jpg

Delaware faces sea level rise

Delmarva Now: For coastal residents, the reality of Delaware's sea level rising is a top concern as the impending threat of water damage may reign true to many during the course of the next few decades. According to Delaware Coastal Management programs of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, 13 inches of sea level rise have been recorded during the past 100 years. It may not seem like much considering it's a century of recorded information, but as years continue to pass, the future...

URL: http://www.delmarvanow.com/needlogin?type=login&redirecturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.delmarvanow.com%2Farticle%2F20130216%2FDCP01%2F302160029%3Fnclick_check%3D1

Climate Rally Draws “Line in the Sand” on Canadian Pipeline

Inter Press Service: - The largest climate rally in U.S. history is expected Sunday in Washington DC with the aim of pressuring President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Activists are calling Keystone "the line in the sand" regarding dangerous climate change, prompting the Sierra Club to suspend its 120-year ban on civil disobedience. The group`s executive director, Michael Brune, was arrested in front of the White House during a small protest against Keystone on Wednesday. "The Keystone...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/02/climate-rally-draws-line-in-the-sand-on-canadian-pipeline/
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Preparing for climate change-induced weather disasters

EurekAlert: The news sounds grim: mounting scientific evidence indicates climate change will lead to more frequent and intense extreme weather that affects larger areas and lasts longer. However, we can reduce the risk of weather-related disasters with a variety of measures, according to Stanford Woods Institute Senior Fellow Chris Field. Field will discuss how to prepare for and adapt to a new climate at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Boston. Field's talk,...

URL: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/su-pfc021513.php

Chinese struggle through 'airpocalypse' smog

Guardian: Hu Li's heart sank when she realised that she could gauge how close she was to home by the colour of the air. Driving 140 kilometres from Tianjin City to Beijing last week, she held her breath as the chalky-white horizon became a charcoal grey haze. The 39-year-old businesswoman has lived in Beijing for a decade, and this past month, she said, brought the worst air pollution she has ever seen. It gave her husband a hacking cough and left her seven-year-old daughter housebound. "I'm working here and...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/16/chinese-struggle-through-airpocalypse-smog
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Canada: Ottawa to set fines for pipeline infractions

Reuters: Canadian regulators are getting the power to fine companies and individuals who contravene pipeline and nuclear safety rules, the country's natural resources minister said on Friday. Under the proposed regulations, the National Energy Board and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission will be able to fine individuals up to C$25,000 ($25,000) and corporations C$100,000 for each day they are out of compliance. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver also said the government is increasing energy board inspections...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/16/us-energy-fines-idUSBRE91E17M20130216?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Apache natural gas well has leak beneath floor of U.S. Gulf

Reuters: Natural gas from a well being drilled by Apache Corporation in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has flowed underground, leading U.S. regulators to order the company to prepare to drill a relief well to control the flow if necessary, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said. Apache shut in the well on February 5 after it had a "kick" upon encountering a zone of "abnormally pressured" natural gas while drilling, the company said in a statement on its website. A kick commonly refers to...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/16/us-apache-well-idUSBRE91F07B20130216?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Role Of Statistics In Climate Change Research Investigated

RedOrbit: Climate change is a range of potential events that have a better or worse probability of occurring, and statistics could be a useful tool in helping people better understand how their actions could be adversely affecting the planet, according to new research presented on Friday. The general public's aversion to statistical thinking and probability is one of the factors that has prevented the implementation of strategies to deal with global warming right now, The Ohio State University professor...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112785541/climate-change-statistics-research-021613/
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Why I Got Arrested at the White House to Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline

EcoWatch: On Sunday, Natural Resources Defense Council and Waterkeeper Alliance will join 350.org, Sierra Club and many other partners in holding the Forward on Climate Rally in Washington, D.C. This will be the largest climate rally in American history, with tens of thousands of people expected. From rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline to limiting carbon pollution from our nation`s dirty power plants, President Barack Obama`s legacy will rest squarely on his response, resolve, and leadership in solving...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2013/why-i-got-arrested-at-white-house/
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Climate Change Threatens US Agriculture: USDA Report

International Business Times: "Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to U.S. agriculture because of the sensitivity of agricultural productivity and costs to changing climate conditions," the report said. According to the report, increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting from human activity are raising average global temperatures, which in turn can alter weather patterns and cause both prolonged droughts and severe downpours and increase stress on both crops and animals. The USDA anticipates that...

URL: http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-threatens-us-agriculture-usda-report-1089792

Obama doubles down on climate action

Living on Earth: In the State of the Union address, President Obama called climate change a clear and present danger, promising executive action if Congress won't pass legislation. Host Steve Curwood discusses the second term environmental agenda with Ann Carlson of the Emmett Center on Climate Change at the UCLA School of Law, and Kevin Knobloch of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Transcript CURWOOD: From the Jennifer and Ted Stanley Studios in Boston, this is Living on Earth. I'm Steve Curwood. 2013 could...

URL: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00007&segmentID=1
Enclosure: http://www.loe.org/content/2013-02-15/state-of-the-union-new-green-team.mp3

Climate change forcing thousands in Bangladesh into slums of Dhaka

Toronto Star: Taslima Masud faces a dilemma every morning: should she prepare food or stay hungry to avoid illness? "The kitchen is so close to the toilet," she says. "When I cook, I can't smell the curry but I can smell the toilet. It disgusts me every day, but there is nothing I can do except . . . not cook. And I have to cook." Masud, 19, lives in Korail, Dhaka's largest slum. Its roughly 70,000 residents dwell in the shadow of the affluent Gulshan neighbourhood, with its mansions, restaurants and western-style...

URL: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/02/16/climate_change_forcing_thousands_in_bangladesh_into_slums_of_dhaka.html
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Starving polar bears

Living on Earth: Polar Bears have long been the poster species for the problem of climate change. But a new paper in Conservation Letters argues that supplemental feeding may be necessary to prevent polar bear populations from going extinct. Polar bear expert Andrew Derocher from the University of Alberta joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss how we can save the largest bear on the planet. Transcript CURWOOD: It's Living on Earth, I'm Steve Curwood. The polar bear has become an icon of the melting arctic, the...

URL: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00007&segmentID=2
Enclosure: http://www.loe.org/content/2013-02-15/OEB_0148.jpg

Obama bypasses Congress with public economic pitch

Associated Press: Weeks before President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, White House aides were locking down a plan for the sales pitch that would follow during three days of travel focused on his main themes. The effort to promote Obama's proposals on jobs, wages and education involved visits to Asheville, N.C., Decatur Ga., and Chicago, participating in a Google+ chat and mobilizing the president's formidable former campaign apparatus. One thing it didn't include? Congress. For the White House,...

URL: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/16/3237816/obama-bypasses-congress-with-public.html
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GAO to Congress: Climate Change a Top Risk

Energy Collective: As part of its responsibilities to support more informed Congressional decision making and inform members of Congress about key issues, since 1990 the Government Accounting Office (GAO) has provided a list of key high-risk areas. identified as high risk due to their greater vulnerability to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or the need for transformation to address economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. Earlier today, the GAO's report to the House of Representatives was the...

URL: http://theenergycollective.com/asiegel/186791/gao-reports-climate-change-one-top-us-government-risks

Canada: Climate change leaves hockey on thin ice

Montreal Gazette: Concordia University geography professor and climate-change researcher Damon Matthews has bad news for fans of pickup hockey -- there might not be any more outdoor rinks in southern Canada by 2050. Matthews and colleagues from McGill University published a study last year that discovered a significant decrease in the length of the skating season during the past half-century in Canada. "The number of days that are cold enough to lay an extra layer of ice on the rink has decreased pretty much...

URL: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Climate+change+leaves+shinny+thin/7973857/story.html

Two New Lithium Discoveries Make The Renewable Energy Economy Just That Much Closer

Forbes: The basic and essential problem with most renewable energy sources is that their output is not continuous. Solar doesn't produce at night of course (notwithstanding those clever Spaniards who realised that shining floodlights on cells was profitable given the vast premium paid for solar electricity going into the grid over buying electricity from the grid) and wind power is famously variable even at 5 minute intervals. It's going to be very, very, difficult running an industrial economy on such sources....

URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/02/16/two-new-lithium-discoveries-make-the-renewable-energy-economy-just-that-much-closer/?ss=business:energy

Canada: Coal lobby stresses jobs, economics as export terminal controversy heats up

Vancouver Sun: The Coal Association of Canada has released a special report on the industry's economic impact in British Columbia as the battle heats up over coal exports from Port Metro Vancouver. Arguing that coal is a catalyst for economic development, trade and employment, coal association president Ann Marie Hann said economics has been missed in the discussion over coal exports. Opponents of Vancouver's growing role as a coal exporting centre cite coal's high greenhouse gas emissions and the health...

URL: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Coal+lobby+stresses+jobs+economics+export+terminal+controversy/7973455/story.html
Enclosure: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/7973456.bin?size=620x400s

Nuclear Waste Seeping From Container In Hazardous Wash. State Facility

National Public Radio: They thought they'd managed this problem a few years ago. But Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee got a disturbing call Friday from Energy Secretary Steven Chu: Nuclear waste is leaking out of a tank in one of the most contaminated nuclear waste sites in the U.S. Inslee released a statement, saying a single shell tank at Hanford Nuclear Reservation is slowly losing between 150 and 300 gallons of radioactive waste each year. All of the liquid was removed from the tank in February 1995; what's left...

URL: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/02/16/172183881/nuclear-waste-seeping-from-container-in-hazardous-wash-state-facility?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013/02/16/hanford-7d18a12a26dead9d4c0acc80354a397f9ca39238-s6-c10.jpg

Canada's cred on climate change won't need much work: enviro minister

Canadian Press: Canada's environment minister says it won't take much work to boost the country's credibility in the United States when it comes to climate change. Peter Kent made the remark in Montreal on Friday, a couple of days after the Obama administration challenged Canada to act more aggressively on climate change. His comment came as Canada desperately seeks ways to get Alberta's oilsands bitumen to markets, including the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project to pump oil though the U.S. The...

URL: http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/Canadas+cred+climate+change+wont+need+much+work+enviro/7971523/story.html

World Bank preparing a new, expanded approach to climate change

ClimateWire: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has instructed his staff to develop a new approach to climate change, a proposal he intends to bring to the board this spring. At his direction, bank staff members are quietly working up a blueprint that, sources say, is likely to include plans for expanding the bank's work in carbon markets, ending fossil fuel and other subsidies and making cities more resilient to climate change. But according to board staff and others knowledgeable about the process, the...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2013/02/15/1
Enclosure: http://www.eenews.net/assets/2012/03/26/photo_cw_01.jpg

United Kingdom: After the horsemeat scandal, are you still a meat-lover?

Guardian: Unless you've eaten a lukewarm, soil-like bowl of Beanfeast, cooked over a single gas ring stove on a windy beach in Scotland, you will never understand the drudgery of being a vegetarian in the 1990s. Back when Portobello mushroom burgers and halloumi skewers sounded more like elocution exercises than dishes, I was being brought up by a vegetarian mother and, well, let's call him a hungry father. We rarely ate meat at home, choosing instead those delicious packets of Beanfeast, Quorn chunks and,...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/16/after-horsemeat-still-meat-lover
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/2/15/1360958609263/independent-high-street-b-010.jpg

A conservative who believes that climate change is real

Yale Environment 360: Heresy may have cost Bob Inglis his seat in the U.S. Congress. As a six-term Republican congressman from one of South Carolina's most conservative districts, Inglis told an audience at a 2010 campaign event that he believed in human-caused climate change. The fallout from that comment helped ensure his defeat by a Tea Party-backed candidate. Bob Inglis After leaving Congress, Inglis established the Energy and Enterprise Initiative at George Mason University. The organization has taken on a daunting...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/interview_bob_inglis_conservative_who_believes_climate_change_is_real/2615/
Enclosure: http://e360.yale.edu/images/features/Bob-Inglis_e360_interview.jpg

The surprisingly low-tech solution to big cities’ climate woes: Triple-pane windows

Grist: Climate scientists have estimated that, in order to avoid runaway global warming, the world would need to cut its carbon emissions roughly in half by 2050. Since emissions in developing countries like China and India are still rising fast, meeting this target would require developed nations to aim for a figure more like 80 percent. When you consider that the United States, the largest polluter in the developed world, has no real strategy in place to achieve that - and that no binding international...

URL: http://grist.org/cities/the-surprisingly-low-tech-solution-to-big-cities-climate-woes-triple-pane-windows/
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Climate Change a Bigger Extinction Threat than Asteroids

Climate Central: As teaching moments go, it doesn't get much better than this. NASA scientists have known for nearly a year that a small asteroid called 2012 DA14, about 150 ft. across, would whiz past Earth at the nail-biting distance of 17,000 miles or so -- significantly closer than the 22,500-mile altitude occupied by geosynchronous satellites. It happened right on schedule on Friday morning, with no consequences at all for Earth. But nobody had a clue that a space rock about a third as large would scream...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-a-bigger-threat-for-extinction-than-asteroid-strike-15625?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/Meteor1-450x300.jpg

'Climate change hurting economy'

News.com.au: THE president of the World Bank warned that global warming is a real risk to the planet and already affecting the world economy in unprecedented ways. Addressing the G20 finance ministers at their meeting in Moscow, Jim Yong Kim called on the world powers to "tackle the serious challenges presented by climate change." "These are not just risks. They represent real consequences," said Mr Kim, calling the lack of attention to the issue by finance ministers and central bank chiefs "a mistake"....

URL: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/climate-change-hurting-economy/story-e6frfku0-1226579514208

Obama’s climate talk may galvanize action in Canada

Globe and Mail: Consternation is the order of the day in Ottawa and Alberta. U.S. President Barack Obama has rediscovered climate change as a priority. The federal and Alberta governments have been caught flat-footed. Neither has assigned a high priority to climate change. They assumed that, since the issue was scarcely raised in the U.S. election campaign, Mr. Obama shared their lack of enthusiasm. Wrong. In his inaugural speech and the State of the Union address, Mr. Obama spent many paragraphs pledging...

URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/obamas-climate-talk-may-galvanize-action-in-canada/article8718582/?cmpid=rss1&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGlobeAndMail-Front+%28The+Globe+and+Mail+-+Latest+News%29

Clean-air chief Gina McCarthy seen as likely pick to head EPA

LA Times: President Obama is expected by environmental advocates to name Gina McCarthy, the controversial chief of the Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution arm, to head the agency. The nomination of McCarthy, 58, who has served as the head of the EPA's clean-air division since 2009, could come as early as next week, according to officials of three environmental groups. Her boss, Lisa Jackson, left the administrator's post Thursday. McCarthy's nomination is likely to draw fire from congressional...

URL: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-epa-chief-20130216,0,3152415.story
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Climate Change Added to US Government “High Risk” List

Inter Press Service: For the first time, a U.S. government auditor has added climate change to a list of issues that pose the greatest financial risk to the government and country. It is also warning that Washington is markedly unprepared to deal with the scope of the problem. On Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed sweeping new climate-related legislation, which would aim to reduce the United States' greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The admonitions, coming amidst a newly strengthened public...

URL: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/02/16
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Islands struggle to convince UN Security Council that climate change is a security threat

Associated Press: The Marshall Islands and other low-lying island nations appealed to the U.N. Security Council on Friday to recognize climate change as an international security threat that jeopardizes their very survival. Tony deBrum, a minister and assistant to the Marshall Islands president, said the island nations are facing opposition from Security Council permanent members Russia and China and a group of more than 130 mainly developing nations, which argue that the U.N.'s most powerful body is the wrong...

URL: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Islands+struggle+convince+Security+Council+that+climate+change+security+threat/7973702/story.html
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The best solution on climate change requires Congress to act

Guardian: Unless we take bold action to reverse climate change, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to look back on this period in history and ask a very simple question: Where were they? Why didn't the United States of America, the most powerful nation on earth, lead the international community in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and preventing the devastating damage that the scientific community was sure would come? The issue that we are dealing with is not political. It has...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/16/bernie-sanders-climate-change-legislation
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Fracking is the only way to achieve Obama climate change goals, says senior scientist

Guardian: America will only achieve the ambitious climate change goals outlined by President Barack Obama last week by encouraging wide-scale fracking for natural gas over the next few years. That is the advice of one of the nation's senior scientists, Professor William Press, a member of the president's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Fracking – known officially as hydraulic fracturing – involves pumping high-pressure water through underground rocks to release natural gas trapped deep underground....

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/16/fracking-obama-climate-change-goals
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Third-Party Residential Solar Surging in California; Nearly a Billion-Dollar Business


Statistics released this week by SunRun and the PV Solar Report show the growing popularity of residential solar energy in general, and third party-owned solar in particular.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/third-party-residential-solar-surging-in-california-nearly-a-billion-dollar-business?cmpid=rss

Tier 1 Polysilicon Producers Rationalize Supply to PV Industry


Polysilicon suppliers to the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry have been significantly lowering plant utilization rates during the past six months, with average quarterly utilization rates falling below 70 percent, as released in the latest NPD Solarbuzz Q4'12 Polysilicon and Wafer Supply Chain Quarterly Report.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/tier-1-polysilicon-producers-rationalize-supply-to-pv-industry?cmpid=rss

Awakening Decentralised Photovoltaic Solar Power in Lebanon


Back in 2008, engineers from a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project in Lebanon visited a remote public school in the northern most region of the country, known as Rajem Issa Public School. The school catered to approximately 150 students from pre-school to the 9th grade, who spent their morning without power -- the school turns off the diesel backup generator to save on fuel costs during electricity outages. After the engineers assessed the school's facilities, lighting fixtures, IT equipment, and deteriorating electricity supply, utility electricity returned to its insufficient and unreliable supply of 120 Volts, when it should be 220 Volts.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/awakening-decentralised-photovoltaic-solar-power-in-lebanon?cmpid=rss

Making Biomass Part of the Energy Mix


Biomass as a source for power and heat generation promises to play an important role in the energy mix of the future. Energy derived from biomass—which burns organic material from wood or agricultural residues compressed into pellets—is an attractive, low-carbon option for generating electricity, uniquely qualified to meet governmental energy objectives (see Figure 1 below). Unlike solar or wind, biomass produces constant power since it doesn't depend on daylight or the weather. It also offers an opportunity to repurpose existing coal plants that may struggle for profitability in the future as loads decrease and carbon costs soar.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/making-biomass-part-of-the-energy-mix?cmpid=rss

German Compromise Limits Power-Price Increases, Ensures Election-Year Battle


Germany's environment and economy ministers, coalition partners from different parties who have clashed over the country's shift from nuclear power, forged a joint plan to slow power-price increases caused by subsidies for renewable energy.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/german-compromise-limits-power-price-increases-ensures-election-year-battle?cmpid=rss

Clean Energy Foresees Fight in Texas Legislature

New York Times: During his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Obama doubled down on his vision for renewable energy, calling for more wind and solar power. In Texas, the Legislature is less enthusiastic. As the session progresses, renewable energy advocates are bracing to defend critical policies that have helped Texas become the leading wind-power state. The ascendancy of the Tea Party, an abundance of cheap natural gas and tighter budgets have reduced the sway of the wind industry. Solar power advocates...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/us/clean-energy-foresees-fight-in-texas-legislature.html
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Outlook for Renewable Energy Projects and Finance in Canada


Developers and investors alike are looking to understand where the next opportunities will be for renewable energy projects in Canada and how the next stage of Ontario's market will evolve. The outlook for financing is another key area of interest with many projects entering the execution phase in 2013. The following thought-leadership piece tackle

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/02/outlook-for-renewables-projects-and-finance-in-canada?cmpid=rss

India's rice revolution – audio slideshow

Guardian: Farmers in parts of India are breaking growing records, using less seed, less water, and compost as fertiliser. This ground-breaking method of cultivation, developed in Madagascar, is boosting yields and changing lives for the farmers. Norman Uphoff, professor at Cornell University, explains how it is done

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/audioslideshow/2013/feb/15/india-rice-revolution-audio-slideshow

Chris Noth talks climate change on NOW

MSNBC: Actor Chris Noth dropped by NOW with Alex Wagner Thursday to discuss climate change and share his thoughts on President Obama`s State of the Union address. "I like the rhetoric that the president made," Noth said, "but it`s far too little, it`s far too late. People talk, nature acts. I don`t think people get it till they get a huge storm and then they think about it a little and then we clean it up and then it`s forgotten again." The panel discussed President Obama`s promise to take action...

URL: http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/15/chris-noth-talks-climate-change-on-now/

Federal Charges Filed In Ohio Dumping Case

National Public Radio: The owner of an oil and natural gas drilling company in Youngstown, Ohio, has been charged with violating the federal Clean Water Act. He's accused of dumping tens of thousands of gallons of drilling waste water into a storm sewer that eventually runs into a local river.

URL: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/15/172078646/federal-charges-filed-in-ohio-dumping-case?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=172078646&m=172078604

Tanzania: Warming seas frustrate Zanzibar's seaweed farmers

AlertNet: Rising sea temperatures and more extreme weather are damaging Zanzibar's formerly thriving seaweed farms, maritime experts say, reducing harvests and putting farmers out of work. Commercially valuable seaweed was brought to Zanzibar from the Philippines in the 1980s, and early producers found it grew well in the shallow waters off this Indian Ocean island. Some types of seaweed, used in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a stabilizer or emulsifying agent, are in great demand abroad,...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/warming-seas-frustrate-zanzibars-seaweed-farmers
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Mainstream Media Fails Again: Girlfriend Killing Buries Climate Change Protest

Huffington Post: Obviously, the New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, and other US mainstream newspapers, as well as broadcast NPR, believes it's more important for the public to know about the girlfriend killing involving a South African athlete than the coalescing US protests against governmental inaction on climate change. Does it matter that our nation's foremost climate scientist, a leader of a major environmental organization, a leader of a major environmental movement, --- oh, and let's not forget THEIR...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-ellen-harte/mainstream-media-fails-ag_b_2691381.html

Federal government's new big worry: The weather

USA Today: The weather: It's something everybody complains about, but the federal government isn't doing enough to address, congressional auditors say. Climate change and soon-to-be-obsolete weather satellites are the two new subjects listed in the non-partisan Government Accountability Office's "high risk" list. The report, released at the beginning of each new Congress, highlights problems that can have a significant impact on health, safety, services and the federal budget. Climate change presents...

URL: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/02/15/climate-change-and-weather-report/1920381/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29
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Sanders and Boxer introduce ‘fee and dividend’ climate bill; greens tickled pink

Grist: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) unveiled ambitious climate and energy legislation on Thursday. In our current sclerotic political environment, it has pretty much zero chance of passing in the Senate and negative chance of passing in the House. But many climate activists like it, and many climate deniers hate it, and the San Francisco Chronicle calls it "radical," so let`s find out what all the fuss is about. Here`s a quick summary of the Climate Protection Act of 2013...

URL: http://grist.org/climate-energy/sanders-and-boxer-introduce-fee-and-dividend-climate-bill-greens-tickled-pink/
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Senators debut plans for $20 a ton US carbon tax

BusinessGreen: The debate over a US carbon tax was reignited yesterday when Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders revealed plans for a new comprehensive climate bill that they hope to move to a Senate vote by the summer. The bill, which aims to build on the momentum created by President Obama's calls in the State of the Union address for Congressional action on climate change, proposes the introduction of a $20 a ton carbon tax that would be introduced on emissions above a set...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2244213/senators-debut-plans-for-usd20-a-ton-us-carbon-tax?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Senators+debut+plans+for+%2420+a+ton+US+carbon+tax

Ex-IPCC head: Prepare for 5°C warmer world

Climate News Network: The world has missed the chance to keep greenhouse gas emissions below the level needed to prevent the temperature climbing above 2°C, according to the British scientist who used to chair the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The scientist, Professor Sir Robert Watson, chaired the Panel from 1997 until 2002, when he was ousted after US pressure for his removal. Professor Watson says there is a 50-50 chance of preventing global average temperatures rising more than 3°C above their...

URL: http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2013/02/ex-ipcc-head-prepare-for-5c-warmer-world/
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Obama Is Going To Combat Climate Change With Or Without Congress

Business Insider: Are we witnessing a strange kind of symmetry? In his first presidential election Barack Obama constantly talked about taking measures to combating global warming all the time -- as, indeed, did his Republican opponent, John McCain. But, once in office, he did little or nothing about it. In his second campaign he hardly mentioned climate change at all. Does that, equally paradoxically, mean that he will now take action. If what he has said since being re-elected is anything to go by, he...

URL: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-executive-order-climate-change-2013-2
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N. American Carbon Markets to ‘More Than Double’ This Year

Environmental Leader: This year, North American carbon markets will more than double in value to $2.5 billion, according to market intelligence firm Thomson Reuters Point Carbon. The growth will be driven by activity in California, whose market will increase over four-fold year-on-year to 186 Mt. Strong demand for California carbon allowances (CCAs), driven by hedging by power suppliers, should push the Californian market as a whole to $2.3bn this year. At state auctions Thomson Reuters Point Carbon predicts CCA prices...

URL: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/02/12/n-american-carbon-markets-to-more-than-double-this-year/?goback=%2Egde_141485_member_213827367

Climate change could burn a hole in the government's finances, GAO says

Washington Post: As climate change leads to more frequent and destructive natural disasters and threatens crop yields, bridges and other infrastructure, the federal government faces big financial risks that it is poorly positioned to address, auditors said Thursday. These risks, along with the threat of gaps in critical weather forecasting satellites that could last years, topped a biennial list released Thursday of federal programs at high risk of waste, fraud, abuse or financial loss. "The federal government...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/climate-change-could-burn-a-hole-in-the-governments-finances-gao-says/2013/02/14/d77eb5ce-76e3-11e2-aa12-e6cf1d31106b_story.html

Carbon markets: Extremely Troubled Scheme

Economist: ON FEBRUARY 19th Europe's emissions-trading system (ETS) faces a potentially fatal vote. It could not only determine whether the world's biggest carbon-trading market survives but delay the emergence of a worldwide market, damage Europe's environmental policies across the board and affect the prospects for a future treaty to limit greenhouse-gas emissions. Quite a lot for a decision which--as is the way of things European--sounds numbingly technical. The vote is due to take place in the environment...

URL: http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21571940-crunch-time-worlds-most-important-carbon-market-extremely-troubled-scheme
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Energy policy must be about bringing down bills, not green preaching, says Cameron

Telegraph: The Prime Minister said both saving money and going green are important. However, people will not be persuaded to back green policies if ministers just talk about saving the planet. Speaking on the Eastleigh by-election campaign trail, he said it was important to stress that saving energy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels are actually cost effective. "In tough times, its important to explain to people that going green is not just about saving the planet it's about saving households money,"...

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/9871285/Energy-policy-must-be-about-bringing-down-bills-not-green-preaching-says-Cameron.html
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Climate Change's Links to Conflict Draws UN Attention

Bloomberg: Imagine India in 2033. It has overtaken China as the most populous nation. Yet with 1.5 billion citizens to feed, it's been three years since the last monsoon. Without rain, crops die and people starve. The seeds of conflict take root. This is one of the scenarios Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, will present today to members of the United Nations Security Council in New York to show the connection between climate change and global security...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-15/climate-change-s-links-to-conflict-draws-un-attention.html
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India to offer vision statement for Green Climate Fund

Hindu: The Ministry of Finance on Thursday said it would offer the 'vision statement' for planned $100 billion a year Green Climate Fund (GCF). The GCF was launched in 2010 by UNFCCC. The proposed fund targets to spend for climate change projects across the globe. The GCF board has 24 members with equal representation from developed and developing countries. "The vision statement would set out the objectives of the fund and rules to spend them. All issues would be discussed in Berlin in March,"...

URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/india-to-offer-vision-statement-for-green-climate-fund/article4415091.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

Environment Canada to report drop in pollutants amid pipeline debate

Globe and Mail: Ottawa is set to proclaim a dramatic decline in key pollutants like heavy metals and sulphur as it seeks to burnish its environmental record in the face of criticism at home and in the United States. In a report to be released on Friday, Environment Canada says emissions of mercury and lead were down 23 per cent and 21 per cent respectively in 2011 from the previous year, while sulphur oxides were 7 per cent lower and nitrogen oxide was down 6 per cent. The 2011 report does not cover carbon dioxide...

URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/environment-canada-to-report-drop-in-pollutants-amid-pipeline-debate/article8709903/?cmpid=rss1&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGlobeAndMail-Front+%28The+Globe+and+Mail+-+Latest+News%29
Enclosure: http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/530/news/politics/article8709902.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/WAS909-USA-CLIMATE+KEYSTONE.JPG

BASIC experts meet to focus on future issues on climate change

Economic Times: Climate experts and negotiators from four emerging economies -- Brazil, South Africa, India and China -- today began discussions here on issues related to climate change. Tomorrow, Environment Ministers from these countries --called BASIC group of nations--will meet here to review the decisions taken at last year's Doha climate conference and plan future steps for taking the global process for an ambitious and equitable agreement under the Durban Platform, official sources said. The meeting...

URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/basic-experts-meet-to-focus-on-future-issues-on-climate-change/articleshow/18512925.cms

Smelly Fiberglass Batts

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The glue used in Owens Corning EcoTouch batts has generated a few odor complaints

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[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/smelly-fiberglass-batts)

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I first heard about the problem of smelly fiberglass batts from Michael Maines, a builder and GBAGreenBuildingAdvisor.com blogger who lives in Yarmouth, Maine. Maines sent me an e-mail saying, "The latest problem with fiberglass insulation is that it smells like burnt brownies!"

I've collected a half dozen reports of this problem, all centering on EcoTouch brand fiberglass batts manufactured by Owens Corning. Two years ago, the company switched from a formaldehydeChemical found in many building products; most binders used for manufactured wood products are formaldehyde compounds. Reclassified by the United Nations International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2004 as a "known human carcinogen."-based glue (or binderGlue used in manufactured wood products, such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, and engineered lumber. Some binders are made with formaldehyde. See urea-formaldehyde binder and methyl diisocyanate (MDI) binder. ) to a new glue described as a "bio-based" binder.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/smelly-fiberglass-batts

NOAA: February 2012 to January 2013 Warmest on Record

Climate Central: January was warmer and wetter than average in the contiguous U.S., despite the persistent drought in the nation's heartland, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. The average temperature in the lower 48 states reached 32.0°F last month. At 1.6°F above the 20th century average, January 2013 ties 1958 as the 39th-warmest January on record. That was still warm enough to make February 2012-to-January 2013 the warmest February-to-January period since record-keeping began...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/noaa-february-2012-to-january-2013-the-warmest-on-record-15609?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/2-14-13-Lauren-NOAAJanMap-500x381.gif

Thinning Ice Is Turning Arctic into an Algae Hotspot

Climate Central: Shrinking, thinning Arctic sea ice appears to be accelerating the growth of algae in polar waters, a new study finds, a development that could alter the region's ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Scientists cruising central Arctic waters last summer aboard the research ship Polarstern were stunned to discover dense, shaggy deposits of the algae Melosira arctica clinging to the bottom of sea ice. The green color of water in a melt pond atop Arctic sea ice hints at the riotous growth...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/thinning-ice-turns-arctic-into-algae-hotspot-15601?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/2-14-13-Lauren-AlgaeSeaIce-500x334.jpg

Activists arrested at WH over climate change protest

CNN: Dozens of environmental activists - including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and actress Daryl Hannah - cuffed themselves to a White House gate on Wednesday in a climate change protest that ultimately resulted in their arrests. Chanting, "President Obama, we don't want no climate drama!" activists demanded concrete government action on the issue. Their first hope: the Obama administration's rejection of the controversial Keystone Pipeline XL. "We're out here saying, 'President Obama, you must reject the...

URL: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/13/activists-arrested-at-wh-over-climate-change-protest/comment-page-1/
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Corporate giants demand EU carbon market action

BusinessGreen: More than 30 leading companies from across Europe have called on EU policy makers to back moves to bolster the flagging emissions trading scheme (ETS). A European parliamentary committee is set to vote next week on whether to support a so-called backloading plan to boost the carbon price, which would see the sale of 900 million carbon delayed until a later date. The European Commission hopes this backloading will reduce the huge surplus of allowances that has been blamed for driving the price...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2243847/corporate-giants-demand-eu-carbon-market-action?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Corporate+giants+demand+EU+carbon+market+action

Obama speech to let Alberta move faster on climate change: ministers

Canadian Press: Alberta cabinet ministers are praising U.S. President Barack Obama's recent remarks on climate change. They say the president's state of the union address shows the U.S. is catching up to Alberta on the issue and allows the province to move even faster to combat the problem. Still, Environment Minister Diana McQueen says she has asked the group setting up a monitoring agency for the oilsands to speed up their work. She's also asked her staff to come up with a renewed climate change strategy,...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-speech-let-alberta-move-faster-climate-change-190133171.html

Obama acting too slowly on climate change risks, US government audit finds

Guardian: The US government is exposed to high risk from climate change, and Barack Obama has not moved fast enough to manage those new dangers, the government auditor said on Thursday. The report from the Government Accountability Office said the government had "significant" financial exposure to climate change. The GAO review, conducted every two years at the start of a new Congress, lists government operations deemed at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement. This year was the first...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/14/obama-too-slowly-climate-change
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Senators propose long-shot carbon tax bill for big polluters

Reuters: Two of the most liberal senators on Thursday proposed a bill to tax carbon emissions, raising up to $1.2 trillion in revenue over 10 years that would largely be returned consumers. Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Barbara Boxer, a Democrat from California, attempted to seize on the momentum from Tuesday's State of the Union speech when President Barack Obama expressed support for efforts to battle climate change. "We have the opportunity right now, with the president's commitment in...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/14/us-usa-climate-legislation-idUSBRE91D1BX20130214?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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Boxer Introduces Bill to Curb Climate Change

KQED: President Obama this week urged Congress to act on climate change. Thursday, California Senator Barbara Boxer answered that call, with a new bill to curb carbon pollution. Senator Boxer's bill would charge a fee for carbon emissions, starting at $20 a ton, and rising over the next decade. "The science is telling us that we can't waste any more time, and the weather is showing us that we can't waste any more time," Boxer said. The revenue generated—potentially more than a trillion dollars--would...

URL: http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2013/02/14/116384/boxer_introduces_bill_to_curb_climate_change?category=science
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U.S. government risks financial exposure from climate change - GAO

Reuters: The U.S. government is at high risk of financial exposure from climate change, the Government Accountability Office said on Thursday, two days after President Barack Obama vowed to tackle the issue with or without Congress' help. For the first time, the non-partisan congressional watchdog added fiscal exposure from climate change to its "High Risk List" of measures the federal government needs to fix. "Climate change is a complex, crosscutting issue that poses risks to many environmental and...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/14/us-usa-climate-gao-study-idUSBRE91D1FI20130214?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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Study Says Wetland Trees Significant Source Of Greenhouse Gas Methane

RedOrbit: While wetlands represent an enormous source of atmospheric methane, researchers taking measurements of the gas at ground level in these regions have noticed a significant drop in methane levels compared to what they have measured in the air around tropical areas. The team of scientists studied both swamps and flooded forests in the tropics. After taking ground-based measurements of methane, they found that levels of the simple organic gas have fallen short of the quantities detected in tropical...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112784559/wetland-trees-major-methane-source-021413/
Enclosure: http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2013/02/WetlandsMethane_021413-617x416.jpg

Ice thaw could spell bad news for polar bears

Reuters: A thaw of sea ice floating on the Arctic Ocean last year sent extra plant food to exotic creatures on the deep sea floor in a shift that might leave polar bears hungry at the surface, scientists said on Thursday. The study, using robot submarines down to 4,400 metres (14,400 ft) deep, could be a glimpse of radical changes for life in the sunless depths of the Arctic Ocean after ice thinned and shrank to cover a record low area in September 2012. Scientists found large amounts of algae growing...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/14/us-climate-arctic-idUSBRE91D1C620130214?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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Boxer pushes carbon tax to ease global warming

USA Today: Sen. Barbara Boxer on Thursday put her political muscle behind a bill that would tax carbon and methane emissions linked to global warming and use the money for consumer rebates and to finance a raft of new clean-energy projects. The California Democrat, who heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is co-sponsoring legislation written by a fellow panel member, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The bill faces little to no chance of passing and is sure to face fierce opposition from...

URL: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/02/14/global-warming-carbon-tax-barbara-boxer/1920963/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29
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Fracking in New York? Not for another year, if ever

Reuters: The fracking debate in New York state is hitting new heights as regulators delay a final decision on the controversial natural gas production method, but it looks increasingly clear that it will be a year - if ever - before drilling begins again. Governor Andrew Cuomo missed a Wednesday deadline for completing a report on the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, that was to form the basis for new drilling rules. As a result, a now-four year moratorium on shale...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/14/energy-fracking-newyork-idUSL1N0BE51020130214

Climate Change Threatens Caribbean Coral Reefs

Inter Press Service: Scientists and researchers are working together in a new initiative to collect data that will help determine the effects of climate change on coral in the Caribbean Sea. "We want to know how climate change will impact our corals. So we will measure variables that would impact corals due to climate change," said Mark Bynoe, senior research economist at the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC). Bynoe told IPS that the idea behind the project is to be able to able to...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/02/climate-change-threatens-caribbean-coral-reefs/

Billionaire Moguls Fighting for and Against Renewable Energy


Two of the most recognizable wealthy businessmen in the Western World appear to have very different opinions on the viability of renewable energy.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/billionaire-moguls-fighting-for-and-against-renewable-energy?cmpid=rss

Fuels America Sends Snarky Valentine to Big Oil


"We love how oil companies want to keep us dependent on a dirty, climate warming, expensive fuel in short supply. Isn't that just great?"

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/fuels-america-sends-snarky-valentine-to-big-oil?cmpid=rss

Obama and the reinvention of energy efficiency

The energy efficiency industry received a nice boost this week during President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. Obama called for cutting energy use by half over the next 20 years. Such attention comes at a significant point in the history of the energy efficiency movement. It appears to be re-inventing itself again, and in a way that is

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/02/obama-and-the-reinvention-of-energy-efficiency?cmpid=rss

Weighing Obama's SOTUS Proposal: More Oil Drilling to Fund Clean Energy?


President Barack Obama's proposal to fund clean-energy research with fees paid by oil and gas producers is renewing a debate over whether the promise of innovation tomorrow is worth expanding drilling today.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/weighing-obamas-sotus-proposal-more-oil-drilling-to-fund-clean-energy?cmpid=rss

New models for financing commercial solar, wind projects


During a Feb. 12 webcast hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Green Power Partnership program Geronimo Energy discussed some new, unique ways to finance renewable energy purchases for commercial, municipal and other, large facilities. The company discussed a number of innovations, including "virtual" and "pre-paid" power purchase

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/02/new-models-for-financing-commercial-solar-wind-projects?cmpid=rss

Onshore Wind Drives Germany's Renewables Revolution, but Is It Too Much of a Good Thing?


Onshore wind power is the wunderkind of Germany's path-breaking clean energy transition. Stretching from the gusty coasts of the North and Baltic Seas all the way now to the Alps, the nation's land-based wind turbines (23,000 as of 2012) account for virtually all of Germany's 30-plus GW of wind-generated green electrical capacity. This generates nearly 40 percent of the country's entire carbon-free electricity production, roughly equal to 40 nuclear reactors. By expanding its supply ten-fold since 1998, it has exceeded the rosiest forecasts of green-thinking optimists -- and costs have plummeted, too. It is no exaggeration to say that onshore wind has turbocharged Germany's Energiewende, the epic transition of Europe's foremost industrial heavyweight to an all-renewable power supply.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/onshore-wind-drives-germanys-renewables-revolution-but-is-it-too-much-of-a-good-thing?cmpid=rss

Commercial-Scale Wind Power

Subtitle:&nbsp_place_holder;

Large wind turbines provide one of the solutions we so desperately need to address climate change — so why are so many Vermonters opposed to wind development?

Images:&nbsp_place_holder;

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/commercial-scale-wind-power)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/commercial-scale-wind-power)

Last week I wrote about the [challenges of small wind turbines ](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/wind-power-why-it-doesn-t-make-sense-everywhere)and the difficulty of successfully integrating wind power into buildings. This week, I'll look at larger-scale commercial wind power developments.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/commercial-scale-wind-power

Net Metering Debate Rages On Despite Calls For Calm


Net metering is one of the most emotionally charged issues in renewable energy, and now it's back in the spotlight. A panel discussion at PV America East in Philadelphia last week explored ways that utilities and ratepayers can agree on how to quantify net metering's benefit. Almost simultaneously, a major utility exec's public criticism of net metering is fanning the flames once again.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/net-metering-debate-rages-on-despite-calls-for-calm?cmpid=rss

Photovoltaic Production in China's Jiangsu Province Falls 30% in 2012


Total output value of the PV industry in Jiangsu province, China amounted to 180 billion yuan (approx US$28.9 billion) for the first 10 months of 2012, a year-over-year decrease of 28 percent, according to recently released data. The industry's total exports reached US$6.89 billion for the same period, down 38 percent when compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Insiders foresee the industry's total output value for the whole year of 2012 to decrease by up to 30 percent year over year.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/02/photovoltaic-production-in-chinas-jiangsu-province-falls-30-in-2012?cmpid=rss

Obama: Will Act on Climate, With or Without Congress

Climate Central: President Barack Obama said Tuesday night that he will use his executive powers to enact new policies to fight climate change if Congress does not address the issue. In his fourth State of the Union address, and his first since winning re-election, Obama linked climate change to recent extreme weather events to make his case. "For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change," he said. "No single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/obama-says-hes-ready-to-act-on-climate-with-or-without-congress-15592?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
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EPRI Calculates U.S. Riverine Hydrokinetic Potential at 3 Percent of Annual Electricity Demand

The results show that the Lower Mississippi region contributes almost half (47.9 percent) of the technically recoverable resource estimate; Alaska 17.1 percent, the Pacific Northwest region 9.2 percent, and, the Ohio region 5.7 percent. Collectively these four regions comprise 80 percent of the technically recoverable hydrokinetic resource in the continental United States.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips213/feb13015.html

Obama speech provides no clues on Keystone pipeline

Globe and Mail: U.S. President Barack Obama urged Congress to pass sweeping "market-based" climate legislation - code for a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax - and threatened to regulate aggressively if it did not. In his annual State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Mr. Obama said the United States must step up its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that he blamed for extreme weather that plagued the country last year. "For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate...

URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/obama-speech-provides-no-clues-on-keystone-pipeline/article8581319/
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Polar bears may require feeding by humans because of ailing ecosystem, researchers say

Toronto Star: "Please feed the bears." That may be the new advice to heed after a dozen polar bear experts wrote a policy paper about the imminent problems facing the species due to rapid ecosystem changes in the Arctic. "In every nature park, there are signs up saying don't feed the wildlife," said University of Alberta's biologist Andrew Derocher, an expert on management of large Arctic mammals. "We're not there yet, but we have to start looking at policy decisions and begin discussing options. We're...

URL: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/02/12/polar_bears_may_require_feeding_by_humans_because_of_ailing_ecosystem_researchers_say.html
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Energy fact check, analysis: State of the Union 2013

KCET: Though Obama's 2013 State of the Union included the most extensive mention of climate change of any SOTU in history, the speech's energy and climate section was by no means its most moving portion. There were a few mentions of old Democratic talking points on increasing solar and wind capacity and engaging in research and development. In fact, the President only covered new ground on renewables when talking about one of the least-sexy facets of the overall issue: energy conservation. Here's the...

URL: http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/government/conservation-leads-energy-issues-in-sotu.html
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Apple chief hails green progress as biggest achievement

BusinessGreen: Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has hailed efforts to reduce the company's environmental impact as one of his key achievements following his first full year in the role. Speaking at a Goldman Sachs technology and internet conference yesterday, Cook, who succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011, was asked what he was most proud of during his time as chief executive. Cook named a number of achievements, including Apple's "world leading" products and employees, but also highlighted the company's revamped...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2243596/apple-chief-hails-green-progress-as-biggest-achievement?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Apple+chief+hails+green+progress+as+biggest+achievement