Obama to announce $2 billion plan to get US cars off gasoline

Scientific American: This afternoon, President Barack Obama will ask Congress to direct our cars, trucks and buses to a realm that doesn't include gas stations. During a visit to Argonne National Laboratory, he will call for $2-billion energy security trust fund dedicated to research to boost automobile efficiency, enhance battery technology and expand the use of biofuels, among other clean-energy efforts. The ultimate goal: getting the country off oil. Obama had briefly mentioned the idea of an energy security trust...

URL: http://www.nature.com/news/obama-to-announce-2-billion-plan-to-get-us-cars-off-gasoline-1.12617
Enclosure: http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/7.9521.1363368584!/image/1.12617_900pix.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/1.12617_900pix.jpg

The Antarctic is left defenceless to tourism

Independent: Across most of Earth, a tourist attraction that sees 35,000 visitors a year can safely be labelled sleepy. But when it's Antarctica, every footstep matters. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis and is now growing fast, with the number of cruise ship passengers visiting doubling in a year. Although the downturn triggered by the economic collapse created an opportunity for the 50 countries that share responsibility through the Antarctic Treaty to set rules to manage tourism,...

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/the-antarctic-is-left-defenceless-to-tourism-8537546.html
Enclosure: http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8537581.ece/BINARY/original/antarctic-ap.jpg

Chemicals Pollutants Threaten Health in the Arctic

ScienceDaily: People living in Arctic areas can be more sensitive to pollutants due to their genetics, says researcher Arja Rautio at the Centre for Arctic Medicine in theUniversity of Oulu, Finland. This is unfortunate since the northernmost areas of Europe are receiving more harmful chemicals. Scientists believe climate change may be a culprit as air and water mass movements push some of these undesirable chemicals towards the Arctic. "In real life, people are exposed to lots of chemicals," says Rautio, who...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130315074510.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News%29
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Evacuation orders lifted as Colorado wildfire eases

Reuters: Evacuation orders were lifted on Saturday for hundreds of Colorado residents forced to flee their homes due to a wind-driven wildfire in a canyon northwest of Denver, as firefighters made progress in containing the blaze, officials said. Calmer winds, higher humidity levels and cooler temperatures allowed firefighters to cut containment lines around 45 percent of the so-called Galena Fire, said Nick Christensen, spokesman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. The blaze signaled an early start...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/17/us-usa-wildfires-colorado-idUSBRE92G00320130317?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Ricken Patel: the global leader of online protest

Guardian: Last week, a 36-year-old man named Ricken Patel gave the Commonwealth Lecture at the Guildhall in London. It was entitled "The opportunity of our time" and promised a "new politics, a new activism, a new democracy". The vaunting sense of optimism contained in those phrases is typical of Patel, a man who combines Panglossian platitudes with tough political nous to beguiling effect. He is not a politician, however, or some multimillionaire megalomaniac, but the founder and president of Avaaz, an...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2013/mar/17/ricken-patel-online-activism-leader-avaaz
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2013/3/16/1363440324566/Ricken-Patel-Profile-010.jpg

Days of Promise Fade for Ethanol

New York Times: Five years ago, rural America was giddy for ethanol. Backed by government subsidies and mandates, hundreds of ethanol plants rose among the golden fields of the Corn Belt, bringing jobs and business to small towns, providing farmers with a new market for their crops and generating billions of dollars in revenue for the producers of this corn-based fuel blend. Those days of promise and prosperity are vanishing. Nearly 10 percent of the nation's ethanol plants have stopped production over the past...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/us/17ethanol.html
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Obama calls for clean fuel innovation from car companies

Guardian: President Barack Obama warned Saturday that American cars and trucks must be weaned off oil for good if drivers are to avoid spikes in gas prices. Touting a $200m-a-year funding boost for research into clean fuel cars, the president used his weekly radio address to reaffirm his belief in an "all-of-the-above" strategy if the US is to become energy self-sufficient. The move comes amid increasing pressure on Obama from environmentalists, left disappointed by the perceived lack of action during...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/16/obama-trucks-cars-clean-energy-green
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2013/3/16/1363449567491/Obama-green-cars-Chicago-010.jpg

Is climate change behind tornadoes' recent twists?

Cherry Hill Courier Post: With the planet heating up, many scientists seem fairly certain some weather elements like hurricanes and droughts will worsen. But as the traditional tornado season nears, scientists have been pondering a simple question: Will there be more or fewer twisters as global warming increases? There is no easy answer. Lately, tornado activity in America has been Jekyll-and-Hyde weird, and scientists are unsure whether climate change has played a role in recent erratic patterns. In 2011, the United...

URL: http://www.courierpostonline.com/viewart/20130316/NEWS05/303160023/Is-climate-change-behind-tornadoes-recent-twists-
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Britain's farming crisis: 'People don't realise how tough everything is'

Guardian: A few hours before I arrived at Kit Dean's dairy farm on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, near where North Yorkshire smudges into Cumbria, he took a call from his animal feed supplier. "I had to put them off again," he says. The bill, running into thousands of pounds, will have to remain unpaid. "They've put a stop on the account," says his wife, Jane, bluntly. "I don't know how we're going to afford to buy the feed we need through the winter." We are at the table in their handsome,...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/16/britain-farming-crisis-how-tough
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UK farmers face disaster as 'perfect storm' strikes

Guardian: British agriculture is facing a wider crisis than the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak of 2001, with around 90% of farmers affected, according to the Prince's Countryside Fund. The charity, established by the Prince of Wales in 2010, is co-ordinating welfare efforts for families in dire need. "This crisis is unique because it's so broad," said Tor Harris, the fund's director. "There have been others in the past but they have affected particular groups, such as livestock farmers. This affects upland...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/16/uk-farmers-face-disaster
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Nepal: Call for interdisciplinary strategies to combat climate change impacts

Republica: A regional workshop on ´climate change impacts in Asian mountains´ has stressed for a pressing need to unite varied disciplines and foster strategies in order to lessen the impact of climate change on Asia´s mountainous countries. The 3-day workshop organized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and International Center for Integrated Mountain development (ICIMOD) in the capital this week concluded that there is a need to better harness...

URL: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=51636

Updated maps: Ohio shale prospects trending west

Associated Press: Updated studies show Ohio's oil-rich shale deposits may extend further west than earlier believed. Revised maps produced by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources show promising shale prospects in Hancock, Hardin, Wyandot and Seneca counties in the region between Mansfield and Lima. State geologists posted the revised maps on the agency website after reviewing information from 100 new locations. The new maps support earlier indications that eastern Ohio - including Stark, Carroll and Tuscarawas...

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Updated-maps-Ohio-shale-prospects-trending-west-4360003.php

Wildfires rage in Colorado as fears grow over continued drought

Reuters: Two wind-driven wildfires erupted in northern Colorado on Friday, prompting the evacuation of about 50 residents and signaling an early start to the wildfire season in the parched Rocky Mountain west. The larger of the two blazes that prompted the evacuations, the Soldier Canyon Fire, has charred about 800 acres near Lory State Park, Poudre Fire Authority Captain Patrick Love told Reuters. "We've been experiencing strong, erratic winds from the north all afternoon," Love said. Along with...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/16/wildfires-colorado-fears-drought-evacuations
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Warming ‘May Harm Rainforests Less’ Than First Thought

Climate Central: Scientists think they have found some good news for the Amazon and other tropical forests. They say they appear more able to withstand the effects of climate change than previous studies had suggested. The research team, including climate scientists and tropical ecologists from the UK, U.S., Australia and Brazil, concluded that the forests are less likely to lose biomass -- plants and plant material -- in response to greenhouse gas emissions over the rest of this century. What they say is the...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/warming-may-harm-rainforests-less-than-first-thought-15749?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed

Arctic melting stacked weather deck in favor of Superstorm Sandy

ClimateWire: A number of unusual atmospheric phenomena combined to form the massive "Frankenstorm" that was Superstorm Sandy. While many have said global warming fueled the storm's strength, it is unclear exactly how it played a role. But scientists are starting to see evidence that warm weather in the Arctic led to conditions that made the hurricane so incredibly powerful. An article in the March issue of Oceanography, authored by scientists from Cornell and Rutgers universities, points to 2012's unprecedented...

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=arctic-melting-stacked-weather-deck-in-favor-of-superstorm-sandy
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EPA may delay proposed greenhouse gas limits for power plants

Washington Post: The Obama administration is leaning toward revising its landmark proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, according to several individuals briefed on the matter, a move that would delay tougher restrictions and anger many environmentalists. The discussions center on the first greenhouse gas limits for power plants, which were proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency nearly a year ago. Rewriting the proposal would significantly postpone any action and also might...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-may-delay-proposed-greenhouse-gas-limits-for-power-plants/2013/03/15/5277e3de-8d98-11e2-b63f-f53fb9f2fcb4_story.html?hpid=z1

Ionova Technologies Announces Breakthrough In Ultracapacitor Value Proposition.

Emerging growth applications ranging from hybrid electric vehicles to grid modernization and others demand the long cycle life and rapid charge rates ultracapacitors provide.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips313/mar13015.html

Human climate change big factor in Somali famine

Associated Press: Global warming may have contributed to low rain levels in Somalia in 2011 where tens of thousands died in a famine, research by British climate scientists suggests. Scientists with Britain's weather service studied weather patterns in East Africa in 2010 and 2011 and found that yearly precipitation known as the short rains failed in late 2010 because of the natural effects of the weather pattern La Nina. But the lack of the long rains in early 2011 was an effect of "the systematic warming due...

URL: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-03-15/human-climate-change-big-factor-in-somali-famine

EPA Report: Initial Data Shows Significant Gains in Fuel Economy for 2012.

The expected 1.4 mpg improvement in 2012 is based on sales estimates provided to EPA by automakers. EPA's projections show a reduction in CO2 emissions to 374 grams per mile and an increase in average fuel economy to 23.8 mpg. These numbers represent the largest annual improvements since EPA began reporting on fuel economy.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips313/mar13013.html

Siemens Installs Next-Gen Tidal Stream Turbine in Irish Sea.

The company wants to build more power plants using the SeaGen-S in underwater arrays similar to the one in Wales. In that way, large amounts of electricity could be brought together - as is the case with wind farms - and transmitted to the mainland.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips313/mar13014.html

Keystone XL Pipeline Not A Climate Change Cure

Time: Barack Obama has seen protesters from his motorcade for years: McCain and Romney campaign supporters, health care reform opponents and all manner of Tea Party acolytes. But when he left Argonne National Laboratory in a cold rain outside Chicago on Friday, there was another breed altogether: environmentalists bearing bright hand-painted signs with messages like, "No XL Pipeline." In a matter of months, the Obama Administration will have to decide whether to permit the Keystone XL pipeline, a 2,000...

URL: http://swampland.time.com/2013/03/16/white-house-keystone-xl-pipeline-not-a-climate-change-cure/
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Congress makes moves to close loopholes for fossil fuels

Climate Progress: Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) introduced two bills on Thursday that would repeal exemptions for oil and gas companies under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. As a press release from the members noted, the bills were introduced: … in order to ensure that the hydraulic fracking industry follows the same rules that other industries do in preserving our natural resources. This legislation is focused on ensuring the safety and the health of the communities where the hydraulic...

URL: http://grist.org/climate-energy/congress-makes-moves-to-close-loopholes-for-fossil-fuels/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed

Recent Supreme Court Decision May Affect Environmental Standing

Environmental News Network: A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court has raised questions about the scope of plaintiffs' standing to bring suit in federal court, a critical issue for environmental litigants. Federal courts have long recognized that certain types of environmental harms can form the basis of standing under Article III of the United States Constitution, which requires plaintiffs to establish an "actual or imminent" injury that is "fairly traceable" to the challenged conduct and "likely to be redressed"...

URL: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/45714?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateChangeNews-Enn+%28Climate+Change+News+-+ENN%29
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Antigua and Barbuda seek funding for climate change adaptation

Observer: By 2014 Antigua & Barbuda could begin accepting up to US$10 million annually in funding to prepare for and adapt to climate change. Chief Environment Officer Dianne Black-Layne said the country is readying itself to receive the funds from the United Nations (UN) Green Climate Fund (CGF). "At the rate at which the (CGF) fund is going, which is at a good rate, it will start dispersing funds to projects by maybe next year," Black-Layne said. "We are looking at creating a national fund that...

URL: http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?p=89425

Capitalism efficient? We can do so much better

Guardian: What's efficiency got to do with capitalism? The short answer is little or nothing. Economic and social collapses in Detroit, Cleveland and many other US cities did not happen because production was inefficient there. Efficiency problems did not cause the longer-term economic declines troubling the US and western Europe. Capitalist corporations decided to relocate production: first, away from such cities, and now, away from those regions. It has done so to serve the priorities of their major shareholders...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/16/capitalism-efficient-we-can-do-better
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Global warming detailed in new temperature records

Washington Post: SCIENTISTS HAVE a good sense of what the Earth's climate has been like over the past handful of centuries. But what about many thousands of years back? In a recent article in the journal Science, researchers at Oregon State University and Harvard explained how they used marine fossils to piece together a rough temperature record going back 11,300 years to the most recent ice age. That record indicates that the Earth warmed as it emerged from the ice age, followed by a long-term cooling trend....

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-warming-detailed-in-new-temperature-records/2013/03/15/688d53f4-8846-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d_story.html

Amazon Indians unite against Canadian oil giant

Survival International: Amazon Indians from Peru and Brazil have joined together to stop a Canadian oil company destroying their land and threatening the lives of uncontacted tribes. Hundreds of Matsés Indians gathered on the border of Peru and Brazil last Saturday and called on their governments to stop the exploration, warning that the work will devastate their forest home. The oil giant Pacific Rubiales is headquartered in Canada and has already started oil exploration in 'Block 135` in Peru, which lies directly...

URL: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9023
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U.N. bodies want to tackle drought to avert food crisis

Reuters: U.N. agencies want to strengthen national drought policies after warnings that climate change would increase their frequency and severity. Droughts cause more deaths and displacement than floods or earthquakes, making them the world's most destructive natural hazard, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, one of the groups taking part. "We must boost national capacity to cope before droughts occur," Ann Tutwiler, FAO deputy director-general told the five-day talks on drought in...

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-un-droughtbre92e0o0-20130315,0,3115809.story

Recent Storms Highlight Flaws In Top U.S. Weather Model

Climate Central: The U.S., which pioneered the groundbreaking science of weather forecasting using mathematical simulations of the atmosphere, has fallen behind other nations when it comes to the accuracy of its global forecasting model. The consequences could be dire for people in harm's way if the U.S. is less prepared for extreme weather and climate events. The emerging "modeling gap' could erode the accuracy of U.S. weather forecasts and also cause greater economic losses from weather events. A 2011 study...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/storms-highlight-flaws-in-u.s.-weather-forecasting-model-15744?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed

U.S. likely to delay climate rule on new power plants -report

Reuters: U.S. environmental regulators will likely delay finalizing rules to limit carbon emissions from new power plants, a measure that has been one of President Barack Obama's top strategies to fight climate change, according to a report on Friday. The rules had been proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency nearly a year ago. They are expected to be revised to set a separate standard for coal-fired plants, as opposed to natural gas-fired plants, according to the report from The Washington Post....

URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100558603

Salt marsh restoration could bring carbon benefits

Plane tEarth: Allowing farmland that's been reclaimed from the sea to flood and turn back into salt marsh could make it absorb lots of carbon from the atmosphere, a new study suggests, though the transformation will take many years to complete. Breaching the sea defences at Tollesbury in 1995. Scientists looked at one of the oldest such places in the UK, Tollesbury in Essex. Originally a salt marsh, the site was claimed for farming in the late 18th century, but eventually relinquished in 1995 when the bank separating...

URL: http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1407&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&cookieConsent=A
Enclosure: http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/images/uploaded/medium/Tollesbury-breach-m.jpg

Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz: ‘Climate Change Is Urgent, Solvable, Human-Caused, and Real’

TakePart: Brian Schatz, appointed in December 2012 to the United States Senate following the death of Daniel Inouye, has staked out an early position as an ardent leader on climate. He recently joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) in introducing a climate bill that would put a price on carbon pollution. "Climate change is urgent, solvable, human-caused, and real," Schatz tells TakePart, with no equivocation, no hesitation in his voice....

URL: http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/03/14/brian-schatz-interview-climate-change-hawaii-senator
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U.S. vehicle fuel economy rose to 23.8 mpg in 2012 -EPA

Reuters: Model year 2012 passenger vehicles sold in the United States had an average fuel economy rating of 23.8 miles per gallon, the highest on record, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday. Last year's models showed a 1.4 mpg improvement over 2011, the biggest annual improvement since the EPA began keeping records on fuel economy. Improving fuel economy is a key component of the Obama administration's effort to cut U.S. oil consumption and polluting greenhouse gases, which cause...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-usa-autos-fueleconomy-idUSBRE92E0RH20130315?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

U.S. likely to delay climate rule on new power plants: report

Reuters: U.S. environmental regulators will likely delay finalizing rules to limit carbon emissions from new power plants, a measure that has been one of President Barack Obama's top strategies to fight climate change, the Washington Post reported on Friday. The rules were proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nearly a year ago. They are expected to be revised to set a separate standard for coal-fired plants, as opposed to natural-gas-fired plants, the newspaper said. The administration...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-usa-climate-power-idUSBRE92E0UJ20130315?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Oregon Residents Sound the Alarm on Pending Coal Export Permit

EcoWatch: More than 450 Oregon residents and a diverse group of local leaders flooded the steps of Oregon's Capitol Wednesday morning to call on Governor Kitzhaber to deny Ambre Energy a dredging permit at the Port of Morrow. Many community leaders and residents feel they can't trust the Australian-based coal company which in 2011 lied to the community of Longview about its plans to expand from annual coal shipments of 5 million tons to as much as 80 million tons--15 times the amount claimed on its application....

URL: http://ecowatch.com/2013/oregon-protest-coal-export/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/coalexport1.jpg

U.S. lawmakers push bills to approve Keystone pipeline

Reuters: U.S. lawmakers in both chambers of Congress said Friday they are moving forward with bills introduced this week to pluck the power of approving the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Canada's oil sands to Texas, from the hands of the Obama administration. Republican Representative Lee Terry from Nebraska introduced a bipartisan bill on Friday to approve TransCanada Corp's 800,000 barrels per day pipeline, which has been held up in the review process for more than four years. Fred Upton,...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-usa-keystone-house-idUSBRE92E15320130315?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
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UN report: human progress may be reversed by climate change

Greenpeace: When it comes to political action on climate change, it's the richest nations in the North that demand developing nations also act, which seems fair at first glance. But it's the rich nations of the North that reaped the benefits of industrialisation leaving the rest of the world in an economic backwater. And it's the polluting gases from that industrialisation that's driving the climate change now reigning down on the developing nations in the global South. Now that the developing nations...

URL: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/un-report-human-progress-may-be-reversed-by-c/blog/44364/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenpeaceNews+%28Greenpeace+News%29
Enclosure: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/community_images/84/2284/71384_121659.jpg

Britain’s Plans for New Nuclear Plant Approach a Decisive Point, 4 Years Late

New York Times: If all goes according to plan, the British energy minister on Tuesday will formally approve construction of the country's first new nuclear power plant in nearly two decades. But little has gone according to plan in this ambitious project, which is already more than four years behind schedule. Although envisioned as a big bet on Britain's clean-energy future, the project has been bogged down in months of dickering between the British government and EDF Energy, the French state-controlled power company...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/energy-environment/britains-nuclear-plans-at-a-critical-point.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/16/business/UKNuke/UKNuke-articleLarge.jpg

Greenland government falls as voters send warning to mining companies

Guardian: The race for resources in the frozen wastes of the Arctic has brought down its first national government, leaving foreign oil and mining companies shivering about the future. Voters in Greenland feared that ministers were surrendering their country's interests to China and foreign multinationals and called an end this week to the government of prime minister Kuupik Kleist. London Mining, which has a former British foreign minister, Sir Nicholas Bonsor, on the board, has been at the centre of a...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/15/greenland-government-oil-mining-resources
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/15/1363384737251/Greenland-008.jpg

Obama Proposes Major New Renewables Research

Inter Press Service: President Barack Obama on Friday unveiled a broad new proposal to step up U.S. research into renewable energy technologies, particularly in transportation, which is responsible for around 70 percent of the United States' oil use. The initiative, which the president is calling the Energy Security Trust, would receive around two billion dollars over the next decade, funded through proceeds from oil-and-gas drilling in U.S. coastal waters.The United States is playing catch-up to countries like Japan,...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/obama-proposes-major-new-renewables-research/
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Green energy more important for climate than Keystone: White House

Reuters: A White House spokesman said on Friday that new investments in green energy technology are more important for easing the effects of climate change than whether or not the controversial Keystone pipeline gets built. Asked by reporters whether the construction of the pipeline was less important to slowing climate change than supporting projects such as the Argonne National Laboratory that President Barack Obama is visiting on Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was. "There's no...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-obama-energy-keystone-idUSBRE92E0SG20130315?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
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University of Tennessee’s Fracking Plan Stirs Protests

New York Times: The University of Tennessee faced protests here on Friday over its proposal to let a private company drill for natural gas across a forest controlled by the university. Environmentalists say opening the Cumberland Forest in eastern Tennessee to hydraulic fracturing, a process known as "fracking,' could harm wildlife and scenery on the 8,000-acre tract of state-owned land. But the university says it would create a rare, controlled environment in which experts could study the environmental impact...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/science/earth/university-of-tennessees-fracking-plan-wins-approval-and-stirs-protests.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/16/us/TENNESSEE/TENNESSEE-articleLarge.jpg

EPA Likely to Delay Climate Rules for New Power Plants

Washington Post: The Obama administration is leaning toward revising its landmark proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, according to several individuals briefed on the matter, a move that would delay tougher restrictions and could anger many environmentalists. The discussions center on the first-ever greenhouse gas regulations for power plants, which were proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency nearly a year ago. Rewriting the proposal would significantly delay any action,...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-may-delay-climate-rules-for-new-power-plants/2013/03/15/28e9d37e-8cda-11e2-b63f-f53fb9f2fcb4_story.html
Enclosure: http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_404h/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2010/12/16/CapitalBusiness/Images/PHO-10Dec15-276779.jpg

As U.S. Cleans Its Energy Mix, It Ships Coal Problems Abroad

National Geographic: Ready for some good news about the environment? Emissions of carbon dioxide in the United States are declining. But don't celebrate just yet. A major side effect of that cleaner air in the U.S. has been the further darkening of skies over Europe and Asia. The United States essentially is exporting a share of its greenhouse gas emissions in the form of coal, data show. If the trend continues, the dramatic changes in energy use in the United States-in particular, the switch from coal to newly abundant...

URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/03/130315-us-coal-exports/
Enclosure: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/652/overrides/energy-united-states-coal-exports_65299_600x450.jpg

Harvard professor argues geoengineering needs oversight

Boston Globe: Large-scale projects that could temper or reverse the effects of climate change by blocking some incoming sunlight or manipulating the atmosphere have long been unpopular on two opposing fronts. On one side are those worried about the unintended consequences and doomsday scenarios that could be set off by careless experiments. On the other are those who believe such research is important, but to support it now will detract from the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are driving global...

URL: http://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/03/14/geoengineering-solutions-global-warming-need-oversight-harvard-professor-argues/sGtkpnGqOVXdcajdDBl70O/story.html

Obama urges Congress to earmark $2bn for electric car research

Guardian: Barack Obama's grand vision of action on climate change shrank to $200m a year to fund research into clean fuel cars, with signs of retreat on the big environmental issues of the day. Friday's initiative – hyped in advance by the White House – marked the first move by Obama to make good on the stirring promises of climate action offered in his inaugural speech and state of the union address. But on the most immediate environmental decision in his in-tray -- the future of the controversial Keystone...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/15/obama-congress-electric-cars-research
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2013/3/15/1363382521736/Obama-at-a-Chicago-lab-008.jpg

Pope Francis and Climate Change; Si Se Puede!

Huffington Post: With a puff of white smoke, the world was greeted this week with the announcement of a new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine Cardinal now known as Pope Francis, named after the patron saint of the poor St. Francis of Assisi. The new pontiff's role in assisting the world's disadvantaged will be inextricably linked to the ravages of climate change, the fast-growing global crisis that will hit the rising global impoverished populations hard with increasingly deadly droughts, floods and storms...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rocky-kistner/pope-francis-and-climate_b_2885576.html

Obama says US must shift cars, trucks off of oil

Associated Press: Envisioning cars that can go "coast to coast without using a drop of oil," President Barack Obama on Friday urged Congress to authorize spending $2 billion over the next decade to expand research into electric cars and biofuels to wean automobiles off gasoline. Obama, expanding on an initiative he addressed in his State of the Union speech last month, said the United States must shift its cars and trucks entirely off oil to avoid perpetual fluctuations in gas prices. Citing policies that already...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-us-must-shift-cars-trucks-off-194324499--politics.html
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‘Active House’ Makes U.S. Debut

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A St. Louis project extends the reach of this new green-building initiative

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[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut)

Does the U.S. need another green-building standard?

St. Louis builder Matt Belcher and the Active House Alliance, a consortium of European firms ledLight-emitting diode. Illumination technology that produces light by running electrical current through a semiconductor diode. LED lamps are much longer lasting and much more energy efficient than incandescent lamps; unlike fluorescent lamps, LED lamps do not contain mercury and can be readily dimmed. by Velux, are hoping so, and a nearly complete 2,500-sq. ft. house in a St. Louis suburb will be its U.S. debut.

Active House is a two-year-old program launched in Brussels that promotes the construction of houses that are energy-efficient, comfortable to live in, and positive for the environment.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut

‘Active House’ Makes U.S. Debut

Subtitle:&nbsp_place_holder;

A St. Louis project extends the reach of this new green-building initiative

Images:&nbsp_place_holder;

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut)

Does the U.S. need another green-building standard?

St. Louis builder Matt Belcher and the Active House Alliance, a consortium of European firms ledLight-emitting diode. Illumination technology that produces light by running electrical current through a semiconductor diode. LED lamps are much longer lasting and much more energy efficient than incandescent lamps; unlike fluorescent lamps, LED lamps do not contain mercury and can be readily dimmed. by Velux, are hoping so, and a nearly complete 2,500-sq. ft. house in a St. Louis suburb will be its U.S. debut.

Active House is a two-year-old program launched in Brussels that promotes the construction of houses that are energy-efficient, comfortable to live in, and positive for the environment.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/active-house-makes-us-debut

For Renewable Energy, Hands-on Learning Can't Be Beat


I'm a reader.  I love sitting down with a great book or an in-depth report full of charts and graphs and really digging in.  SEIA and GTM Research just released their Solar Market Insight Report with staggering figures about solar installations in the U.S. in 2012. If you, like me, love to learn about the global growth of renewable energy, you shou

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/for-renewable-energy-hands-on-learning-cant-be-beat?cmpid=rss

US Senators Urge Wind PTC Clarification, But Is It Time To Look Beyond?


A bipartisan group of US Senators, led by Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), have sent an open letter to the US Treasury and IRS asking them to speed up their clarification of new language in the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC).

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/us-senators-urge-wind-ptc-clarification-but-is-it-time-to-look-beyond?cmpid=rss

Big Oil's 100-Year Incentive Birthday Bash Hosted by...Biofuels?


Happy birthday, Big Oil! A group gathered in Washington D.C. this week to celebrate 100 years of tax subsidies for the oil industry – but attendees certainly weren't oil-industry insiders – quite the opposite, in fact. The party consisted of more than 50 members of the American Coalition of Ethanol (ACE) and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IR

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/big-oils-100-year-incentive-birthday-bash-hosted-by-biofuels?cmpid=rss

Solar Amplified, Benefits Maximized


Cloud cover and inconsistent winds are natural assumptions when it comes to integrating renewable energy. Their variable and non-dispatchable nature requires utilities to take a number of precautions when integrating some types of renewable energy. Utilities take precautions because they are required to ensure the safety, reliability and power qual

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/solar-amplified-benefits-maximized?cmpid=rss

Abengoa and BrightSource Energy Partner to Build the World's Two Largest Solar Power Towers.

As joint partners, the two pioneers in solar power tower technology will work together to permit and finance the 500 MW Palen Solar Electric Generating System.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips313/mar13012.html

U.K. Offers Renewables Support Ahead of Reforms to Stem Delays


Britain will offer renewable energy developers contracts for the power they generate ahead of electricity market reforms due to go into force next year to avoid delays that may threaten the U.K.'s low-carbon ambitions.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/u-k-offers-renewables-support-ahead-of-reforms-to-stem-delays?cmpid=rss

Suntech Plunges As Reckoning Day Comes


I rarely write about the same company 3 times in a single week, but in this case the developments are coming so quickly at plunging solar panel pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP) that an update to this fast developing story is really necessary. Company watchers will know that today, Friday, is the official deadline for Suntech to repay some $540 million i

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/suntech-plunges-as-reckoning-day-comes?cmpid=rss

Obama to Press Congress on $2 Billion Clean Energy Research Fund


President Barack Obama is pressing Congress to create a $2 billion clean-energy research fund with fees paid by oil and gas producers to help lower U.S. dependence on oil.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/obama-to-press-congress-on-2-billion-clean-energy-research-fund?cmpid=rss

Broadwind Energy Wins $35 Million US Wind Tower Order.

This order includes towers for various domestic wind projects. The towers will be produced in Broadwind's Manitowoc, Wisconsin facility for delivery during 2013.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips313/mar13009.html

UQM to Supply Proterra with Electric Drive Systems Under 3-Year Contract.

Under the new agreement, Proterra will purchase the recently released UQM PowerPhase HD (R) 220 electric propulsion system.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips313/mar13010.html

Ballard Fuel Cell Modules to Power Fleet of 10 Clean Energy Buses in Aberdeen, Scotland.

When deployed in revenue service, the 10-bus fleet to be operated in Aberdeen will be Europe's largest hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet. Furthermore, by early-2014 approximately 40 buses in Europe will be powered by Ballard fuel cell modules.

URL: http://green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips313/mar13011.html

A Safe Haven in a Carbon Price Storm: Securing Value with Voluntary Offsets


Voluntary emission reductions (VERs) focus on sustainability rather than just carbon reduction and allow renewables projects to produce truly game-changing results. So says Tom Morton of ClimateCare, a developer and marketer of this type of offset internationally. 'It's important to intervene early in a country's development to introduce sustainable, low-carbon practice rather than wait until unsustainable practices develop,' he said, suggesting that, for example, micro-renewable energy technology funded by VERs could avoid the need for a centralised grid fuelled by large-scale coal.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/a-safe-haven-in-a-carbon-price-storm-securing-value-with-voluntary-offsets?cmpid=rss

Microgrids by Mail Can Contribute to Rural Electrification


With policy focus, creative use of technology, and good management, minigrids can deliver 100 percent electrification for the ~1.5 billion mostly rural people worldwide — affordably, without global warming emissions, and within ten years. In urban deployments, renewables-powered minigrids will de-stress the electricity infrastructure. A whole new business is poised to launch. The time to begin is now.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/microgrid-by-mail-can-contribute-to-rural-electrification?cmpid=rss

Geothermal Industry in Uganda Reaching Out to Developed Markets


U.S. geothermal companies are beginning to see East Africa as an area for industry activity that is fruitful in almost every sense: enormous geothermal resource potential, areas in need of significant energy infrastructure development, and increased demand for U.S. expertise at the local level.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/geothermal-industry-in-uganda-reaching-out-to-developed-markets?cmpid=rss

Shell Oil Unprepared for 2012 Arctic Drilling, Finds U.S. Review

Environment News Service: "Shell screwed up in 2012 and we`re not going to let them screw up when they try to drill in the Arctic again," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told reporters today, releasing the findings of a departmental review of Shell Oil`s 2012 Arctic operations. In 2012, Shell started drilling the first wells in the Alaskan Arctic in nearly two decades in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Shell`s goal for the summer drilling season was to confirm a major discovery of oil in commercially-viable quantities...

URL: http://ens-newswire.com/2013/03/14/shell-oil-unprepared-for-2012-arctic-drilling-finds-u-s-review/
Enclosure: http://ens-newswire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/20130314_noblediscoverer.jpg

Car manufacturers 'manipulating fuel efficiency tests' says report

Guardian: Drivers who find that the fuel efficiency in their new car doesn't match up to the claims made by the manufacturer, now know it is not their driving to blame. A new report reveals that carmakers routinely manipulate official UN-backed miles/gallons tests, with a series of tricks including stripping the car down to weigh as little as possible, overinflating the tyres and testing in the thin air at high-altitude tracks. The tricks of the trade are listed in a report by the Transport & Environment...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/14/car-manufacturers-manipulating-fuel-efficiency-tests
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/maps_and_graphs/2013/3/13/1363195686178/Car-emissions-large-001.png

Solar power has record year despite bankruptcies

CNN: It was a record year for solar installations in the United States in 2012, boosting an industry still struggling with consolidation and bankruptcies. Over 3.3 gigawatts of solar power were installed last year, according to a report Thursday from the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group. That's enough to power about 500,000 homes, and it was a 76% increase from 2011. The industry credited the jump to the declining price of solar panels, stable tax incentives and better financing...

URL: http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/14/news/economy/solar-power/
Enclosure: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/130314104454-solar-power-record-year-2012-usa-620xa.jpg

Bees are still dying – an EU pesticide ban would be a start

Guardian: When I wrote A World Without Bees to investigate why honeybees were mysteriously disappearing across the US and parts of Europe, one of the conclusions I came to – having talked to beekeepers, scientists, farmers and pesticide manufacturers, and waded through piles of academic papers – was that we must suspend the use of some neonicotinoid pesticides until we had a better idea of what harm they may be causing our bees. The European commission has an opportunity to do just that on Friday by voting...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/14/bees-dying-eu-pesticide-ban
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/14/1363264223470/Honeybees-008.jpg

Nigeria: Climate change, biggest war of our time - Fashola

Nigerian Tribune: GOVERNOR of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has described the ravaging climate change as the biggest war of our time, stressing that "no war in human history has claimed as many lives as climate change has." Fashola stated this at the ongoing 5th Climate Change Summit in Lagos, with the theme: Vulnerability and adaptability to climate change in Nigeria: Lagos State transportation, housing and infrastructural sectors in focus." Fashola added "it is a war we need to fight together and I am...

URL: http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/item/7361-climate-change-biggest-war-of-our-time-fashola

More work needed on 2010 Michigan spill

United Press International: Pipeline company Enbridge has less than a week to respond to an order for more river dredging in Michigan to clean up oil from a 2010 spill, the EPA said. The Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order requiring Enbridge to dredge the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan. "EPA has repeatedly documented the presence of recoverable submerged oil in the sections of the river identified in the order and has determined that submerged oil in these areas can be recovered by dredging,"...

URL: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/03/15/More-work-needed-on-2010-Michigan-spill/UPI-80021363343423/?spt=hs&or=er

Climate change: Pakistan, Italy join hands to identify adaptive measures

Express Tribune: Pakistan's only dedicated climate change research centre is going to partner with Italian experts to identify climate change adaptation measures. The Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC), which recently became an autonomous body by act of parliament, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ev-K2-CNR, an Italian research organisation that has worked in Pakistan's northern areas for many years. The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Climate Change in Islamabad on Thursday....

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/521072/climate-change-pakistan-italy-join-hands-to-identify-adaptive-measures/
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Pearls of Wisdom From Recent Conferences

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Pithy quotes from presenters at Better Buildings By Design, Building Energy, and Greenprints

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[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/pearls-wisdom-recent-conferences)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/pearls-wisdom-recent-conferences)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/pearls-wisdom-recent-conferences)

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[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/pearls-wisdom-recent-conferences)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/pearls-wisdom-recent-conferences)

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/pearls-wisdom-recent-conferences)

There are lots of reasons to attend conferences. At a good conference, we get a chance to network with colleagues, to learn about recent research, to see new products, and to talk with manufacturers' reps. I've had the good fortune, over the last six weeks, to attend three conferences focusing on green building and residential energy:

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/pearls-wisdom-recent-conferences

Biofuels boom threatens to disrupt global biodiversity

Deustsche-Welle: The rush around the world to plant crops used to produce biofuel has not only sparked a global food vs. fuel debate, but it's also putting biodiversity at risk. Last fall, a group of more than 200 American scientists banded together to protest a government decision allowing two potentially invasive species of grass to be grown for biofuel. In a letter to the Obama administration, the biologists and ecologists urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent the spread of the plants on...

URL: http://www.dw.de/biofuels-boom-threatens-to-disrupt-global-biodiversity/a-16665847
Enclosure: http://www.dw.de/image/0,,16653499_303,00.jpg

Shell barred from returning to drill for oil in Arctic without overhaul

Guardian: Shell "screwed up" drilling for oil in Arctic waters and will not be allowed back without a comprehensive overhaul of its plans, the Obama administration said on Thursday. A government review found the oil company was not prepared for the extreme conditions in the Arctic, which resulted in a series of blunders and accidents culminating in the New Year's Eve grounding of its drill rig. Shell announced a "pause" in Arctic drilling last month. But Ken Salazar, the interior secretary, told a reporters'...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/15/shell-barred-drill-oil-arctic
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/15/1363306366781/Shell-Arctic-drilling-rig-010.jpg

Fracking: the monster we greens must embrace

Guardian: Most environmentalists are in no doubt. The new technology of fracking to extract shale gas from the rocks beneath our homes is both a nasty neighbour and a sure recipe for climate Armageddon. Not only that, fracking was pioneered in the US, the gas-guzzling land of climate sceptics. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, uses high-pressure water to shatter shale rocks and release natural gas lurking within. The gas is then piped to the surface. Shale rocks are widespread. But fracking requires lots...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/15/fracking-monster-greens-must-embrace
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/14/1363276530806/Blackpool-Shale-Gas-Drill-008.jpg

Indigenous women fight climate change

Latinamerica Press: Beginning two years ago, about 350 indigenous women farmers from 14 localities of the central Bolivian department of Cochabamba have been applying strategies to confront climate change. These women are part of communities from the municipalities of Tapacarí, Arque, Bolívar, and Sicaya, where in the last years the drought has worsened and there is a shortage of water reservoirs. According to the newspaper La Opinión, of every 10 watersheds, only two can supply water. Likewise, the lack of grasslands...

URL: http://lapress.org/articles.asp?art=6791

Drawing in U.S., China and Finance Critical to Climate Deal - S. Africa

AlertNet: Building a new, ambitious global climate agreement by 2015 will require drawing in China and the United States, and boosting financial help for poor nations so they feel "energised" to act, South Africa's climate change ambassador has said. With China's new leadership under domestic pressure to tackle worsening pollution, and U.S. President Barack Obama promising action on climate change after his re-election, now is the moment to press the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, said Nozipho...

URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/201303131177.html

United Kingdom: Flurry of new solar farms rush to beat cuts deadline

BusinessGreen: Solarcentury has this week announced that it is on track to complete up to 70MW of new solar farm capacity by the end of the month, ahead of imminent cuts to the level of support available to solar installations with more than 5MW of capacity. Late last year the government confirmed the level of subsidy available for ground-mounted solar farms would be cut from two tradable renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) per MWh to 1.6ROCS/MWh, with the changes due to come into effect from 1 April. ...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2254901/flurry-of-new-solar-farms-rush-to-beat-cuts-deadline?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Flurry+of+new+solar+farms+rush+to+beat+cuts+deadline

Obama’s $2 Billion Plan to Replace Fossil Fuels in Cars

New York Times: With few options available for financing his clean-energy ambitions, President Obama on Friday will propose diverting $2 billion in revenue from federal oil and gas leases over the next decade to pay for research on advanced vehicles, White House officials said. Mr. Obama will visit the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago to tour its state-of-the-art research facilities and to promote his idea, first proposed in last month's State of the Union address, to use oil and gas money to find ways...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/us/politics/obamas-2-billion-plan-to-replace-fossil-fuels-in-cars.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&_r=0

Climate heavyweights fire fresh salvos in global CO2 debate

RTCC: The first salvos of the new UN climate regime have been fired by some of the most influential nations ahead of the first talks in earnest on a global emissions deal. After early housekeeping was addressed at the UNFCCC's session in Doha last year, the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, known as the ADP, kicks off next month. Bigger issues, like how to share responsibility fairly, will feature on the agenda throughout 2013. Japan, USA and...

URL: http://www.rtcc.org/climate-heavyweights-fire-fresh-salvos-in-global-co2-debate/
Enclosure: http://www.rtcc.org/files/2013/03/Doha-3-e1363282673604.jpg

Meltwater catastrophes are forming high in the Andes

ClimateWire: Glacial melt is a popular topic in global warming discussions, with its contribution to rising sea levels and shrinking freshwater supplies among the main concerns. But for mountainous communities in Peru, such long-term worries are obscured by a much more imminent threat -- glacial lake outburst flows, called GLOFs -- poised just above them. Last month, the Risk Management Office of the Peruvian Municipality of Huaraz sounded the alarm that glacial lake Palcacocha had once again swollen above...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2013/03/14/1
Enclosure: http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/03/14/photo_cw_02.jpg

Human climate change big factor in Somali famine

Associated Press: A new study has found that human-induced climate change contributed to low rain levels in East Africa in 2011, making global warming one of the causes of Somalia's famine and tens of thousands of deaths. Climate scientists with Britain's national weather service studied weather patterns in Somalia in 2010 and 2011 and found that yearly precipitation known as the short rains failed in late 2010 because of the natural effects of La Nina. But Peter Scott, one of the study's authors, said the lack...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130315/af-somalia-famine-climate-change/?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=green

Obama's climate readiness plans 'freak out' US firms

Bloomberg: President Barack Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they have to consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways. The result could be significant delays for natural gas- export facilities, ports for coal sales to Asia, and even new forest roads, industry lobbyists warn. "It`s got us very freaked out," said Ross Eisenberg, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, a Washington-based group that...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/obamas-climate-readiness-plans-freak-out-us-firms-20130315-2g6jz.html

Windfarm sickness spreads by word of mouth, Australian study finds

Guardian: Sickness being attributed to wind turbines is more likely to have been caused by people getting alarmed at the health warnings circulated by activists, an Australian study has found. Complaints of illness were far more prevalent in communities targeted by anti-windfarm groups, said the report's author, Simon Chapman, professor of public health at Sydney University. His report concludes that illnesses being blamed on windfarms are more than likely caused by the psychological effect of suggestions...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/15/windfarm-sickness-spread-word-australia
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/15/1363330244093/Windfarms-do-not-cause-il-010.jpg

Ghost of Kyoto Protocol haunts Russia's energy plans

RTCC: The Russian government has recently endorsed a draft state program for energy efficiency and energy sector development that lists part of the Kyoto Protocol as a major source of funding, months after leaving the UN emissions cutting process. In what looks like a textbook example of Russia`s climate policy schizophrenia, it has listed a $4.6bn contribution from Joint Implementation (JI), a financial mechanism of the UN's Kyoto Protocol (KP), which Russia left during the climate talks in Doha last...

URL: http://www.rtcc.org/ghost-of-kyoto-protocol-haunts-russias-energy-plans/
Enclosure: http://www.rtcc.org/files/2013/03/Russia-shamanov-left-at-end-of-doha-source-flickr-unfccc-466px.jpg

New Zealand suffering most widespread drought in at least 30 years as dairy industry takes hit

Associated Press: Dairy farmer John Rose has sent more than 100 of his cows to the slaughterhouse over recent weeks as a severe drought browned pastures in New Zealand's normally verdant North Island. He had to thin his herd so the remaining 550 cows have enough to eat, and he's supplementing their diet with ground palm kernel as the grass in his fields withers. "We try and make sure they've got water and shade during the day and do the best we can for them,' he said. "It's very hard to remember when the last...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/new-zealand-declares-most-widespread-drought-in-at-least-30-years-as-dairy-industry-takes-hit/2013/03/14/48a69ac2-8d06-11e2-adca-74ab31da3399_story.html

New Solar Projects in Israel Will Significantly Increase Installed Capacity


Pop quiz: Which country ranks tied with Austria and South Africa for solar energy "attractiveness," and is tied with Saudi Arabia (and just behind Chile and the UAE) for overall renewable energy attractiveness?

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/scaling-up-solar-in-israel?cmpid=rss

China Seeking Solar Consolidation Damps Hope for Suntech


China won't rescue Suntech Power Holdings Co. from its creditors because the former biggest solar-panel maker needs to retrench along with the rest of the industry, two advisers to government agencies said.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/china-seeking-solar-consolidation-damps-hope-for-suntech?cmpid=rss

Biomass To More Than Triple


Driven by aggressive biofuel mandates, rapid industry growth will cause great strain on biomass by 2030, according to analysis firm Lux Research. A report from the firm says that, using today's technologies, an area the size of Russia would need to be cultivated to replace all petroleum used for chemicals and fuels, and feedstock innovation will be needed to keep growing biomass's market share.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/biomass-to-more-than-triple?cmpid=rss

U.S. Approves 1,100 Megawatts of Renewable Energy Projects


The U.S. approved three renewable- energy projects to be built on federal land in California and Nevada.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/u-s-approves-1100-megawatts-of-renewable-energy-projects?cmpid=rss

Support Equitable Access to Solar Energy


Should solar energy only be accessible to those who can afford to invest in a solar system?   The California Solar Initiative (CSI) has created financial incentives to encourage California citizens to adopt solar, helping homeowners across California reduce their electric bills.  A residential solar system in California will typically pay for itsel

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/support-equitable-access-to-solar-energy?cmpid=rss

15, Count 'Em, 15 Must-Have's for Any Modern Residential Solar Website


  A lot of residential solar companies contact me about programs for them, and one of the first things I do is look at their websites. Some are okay, but often they're outdated and missing several key elements that every modern website should have. So, for the benefit of not repeating myself and helping these installers to at least look modern, her

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/15-count-em-15-must-haves-for-any-modern-residential-solar-websites?cmpid=rss

Market for Green Building Materials to Grow

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A market research firm predicts 11% annual growth through 2017

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Demand for green building materials will increase by 11% a year through 2017 to become a $86.6 billion industry, according to The Freedonia Group, a marketing research firm.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/market-green-building-materials-grow

Strong ‘no deforestation’ commitments save forests and feed people

Mongabay: As a global community, we have so far failed to answer this most pressing question; we have yet to build our cloud. Deforestation rates are down in some places, but overall, our forests continue to disappear much as they have for the past 50 years, driven principally by increasing global demand for food. Can we feed the world and save our forests? Yes, we can, and the solution lies in the global supply chain and the message some companies are now sending their suppliers: "If you cut down trees, I...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0312-swf2013-poynton-no-deforestation.html

350 Action Backing Rep. Ed Markey to Fill Kerry’s Old Senate Seat

Washington Post: The political action arm of 350.org, in its first foray into electoral politics, has decided to back Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in his primary race to fill the Senate seat left vacant by John Kerry's move to head up the State Department. The group, 350 Action, said that Markey's opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline was the decisive issue. His primary foe, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D), cast two votes for measures that 350 Action spokesman Daniel Kessler said were designed to force President Obama...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/350-action-backing-rep-ed-markey-to-fill-kerrys-old-senate-seat/2013/03/12/4e7779d2-8b56-11e2-b63f-f53fb9f2fcb4_story.html

Climate change possibly to bring more and new diseases

Business Mirror: THE scientific evidence continues to mount. The climate is changing, the effects are already being felt and human activities are a principal cause. "Without effective action, climate change is going to be larger and more difficult to deal with than we thought," said Dr. Chris Field, who was a coordinating lead author of the report issued by the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate change results from the Earth's atmosphere allowing light to penetrate and reach...

URL: http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/features/health-fitness/10524-climate-change-possibly-to-bring-more-and-new-diseases
Enclosure: http://businessmirror.com.ph/images/daily-image/2013/03March/0313/health04.jpg

Asians Hunt Gas Treasure Locked in Ice Beneath Seabeds: Energy

Bloomberg: Japan and India, Asia's biggest energy consumers after China, are closer to unlocking natural gas deposits trapped in ice below the seabed that may prove bigger than the world's known fossil-fuel reserves. Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corp. said yesterday it produced gas in the world's first offshore test to extract the fuel from the frozen depths. A team including Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), India's biggest energy explorer, will drill off the east coast this year and try to produce the...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/asians-hunt-gas-treasure-locked-in-ice-beneath-seabeds-energy.html
Enclosure: http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iBbs8kQieDfw.jpg

New Desalination Process Slashes Costs of Producing Fresh Water

Yale Environment 360: Lockheed Martin, one of the world's largest military contractors, has developed a process that company officials say significantly reduces the amount of energy needed to desalinate water, an innovation that could help communities worldwide tackle the growing threat of water scarcity. According to the U.S.-based company, the new process uses ultra-thin carbon membranes with holes large enough to allow water to pass through, but small enough to block the salt molecules in seawater, Reuters reports....

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/new_desalination_process__slashes_costs_of_producing_fresh_water/3789/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Interview: An Advocate for Environmental Justice at EPA

Yale Environment 360: After five years of working with low-income and minority communities in Texas, Matthew Tejada brings on-the-ground experience to his new job as director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Tejada, 33, took over his EPA post this week after leading Air Alliance Houston, where he helped organize communities along the Texas Gulf Coast to fight air pollution from chemical plants, oil refineries, and the shipping industry. Matthew Tejada In an interview...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/interview_with_epa_environmental_justice_director_matthew_tejada/2627/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Canada playing US for fools on Keystone, opposition leader says

The Hill: Canada's opposition leader will visit Washington, D.C., this week to counter statements by Canadian officials in a recent lobbying blitz supporting the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. The trip by Tom Mulcair, of Canada's New Democratic Party, comes amidst a series of United States trips by Canadian officials to meet with Obama administration personnel and lawmakers about the pipeline. According to Canada's National Post, Mulcair's message to the lawmakers and business executives with whom he...

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/287715-canadian-opposition-leader-government-playing-us-for-fools-on-keystone

New protection for endangered trees

Guardian: Every species of mahogany and rosewood tree in Madagascar gained new protection on Tuesday against a rampant logging trade that threatens to wipe out some species before they are even discovered. The 178 nations at the world's biggest wildlife summit agreed unanimously to strictly regulate the international trade in mahogany timber. The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), taking place in Bangkok, also gave new protection to rosewood in Central America, Thailand...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/12/protection-madagascar-trees-logging-trade
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2013/3/12/1363088103782/illegal-logging-and--wood-009.jpg

Will The Next Pope Tackle Climate Change?

Think Progress: The world is anxiously waiting for the College of Cardinals to select the next Bishop of Rome, especially the planet's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. The faithful have good reason to be anxious: After all, the new pope will have to address a number of polarizing issues within the Catholic Church. In addition to the challenges of ecclesiastical governance, however, there also exists an opportunity for the next pope to address an issue affecting the entire world community, both Catholics and non-Catholics...

URL: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/03/12/1704971/will-the-next-pope-tackle-climate-change/?mobile=nc
Enclosure: http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Vatican-Solar-300x199.jpg

Fracking: What’s That Smell?

EcoWatch: You know what natural gas smells like. Or do you? Natural gas is actually odorless. That rotten-egg smell is added for safety reasons. Otherwise, you might not notice a potentially deadly gas leak. If only we could add a similar smell to the natural gas industry. Too many people--especially politicians--aren`t paying attention to the dangers of the current "boom" in natural gas development. Here are three big reasons why we should stop new gas drilling before it starts and replace fossil fuels...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2013/fracking-whats-that-smell/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/fracking.jpg

Conservatives push back on carbon tax proposals

The Hill: The oil industry, conservative groups and House GOP lawmakers will ramp up opposition to proposals that would strip industry tax breaks and impose taxes on industrial carbon emissions. The conservative House Republican Study Committee and a number of outside groups will continue a trend: publicly slamming carbon tax proposals that already lack political traction. Their Capitol Hill press conference will feature lawmakers and groups like Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform and Americans...

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/287745--overnight-energy-conservatives-industry-strike-back-on-carbon-and-oil-taxes

An energy coup for Japan: ‘Flammable ice’

New York Times: Japan said Tuesday that it had extracted gas from offshore deposits of methane hydrate — sometimes called "flammable ice" — a breakthrough that officials and experts said could be a step toward tapping a promising but still little-understood energy source. The gas, whose extraction from the undersea hydrate reservoir was thought to be a world first, could provide an alternative source of energy to known oil and gas reserves. That could be crucial especially for Japan, which is the world's biggest...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/business/global/japan-says-it-is-first-to-tap-methane-hydrate-deposit.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/13/business/global/13methane/13methane-articleLarge.jpg

Preparing for drought cheaper than waiting for it - UN agencies

AlertNet: U.N. agencies are calling on governments at a high-level meeting this week to start reacting more quickly to warnings of drought and put in place national policies to prepare for longer and worse droughts. "In the next decade to come, drought will continue escalating in severity, in occurrence and in duration," Luc Gnacadja, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), told AlertNet from the conference in Geneva. "Preparedness and risk management cost-wise are...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/preparing-for-drought-cheaper-than-waiting-for-itun-agencies
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/6d07cb02-17f7-43ec-90a1-2e683cb4bf3f/photowide/?w=460&vn=201303131503

General Wesley Clark accuses oil majors of trying to kill off biofuels industry

BusinessGreen: The biofuels industry must join together to combat the negative "studies and misinformation" funded by the trillion dollar oil industry, according to former NATO commander General Wesley Clark. In an extraordinary tirade, Clark, who now serves as co-chair of US biofuels specialist Growth Energy, accused global oil majors of actively undermining the biofuels industry, even though many oil companies now have business units dedicated to the technology. "You're going against the largest industry...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2254509/general-wesley-clark-accuses-oil-majors-of-trying-to-kill-off-biofuels-industry?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=General+Wesley+Clark+accuses+oil+majors+of+trying+to+kill+off+biofuels+industry