Activists fight green projects, seeing U.N. plot. Across the country, activists with ties to the Tea Party are railing against all sorts of local and state efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy. They brand government action for things like expanding public transportation routes and preserving open space as part of a United Nations-led conspiracy to deny property rights and herd citizens toward cities. New York Times 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
How Steven Chu lost his battle with Washington. Steven Chu arrived in town as one of Obama’s most celebrated appointees, with an ambitious mission: Use a backwater Cabinet position to reinvent America’s energy system. Now Chu may have no choice but to preside over a similarly dramatic retreat. New Republic 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Texas drought forces a town to sip from a truck. Spicewood Beach is one of the first four subdivisions, made up of about 1,100 people, in drought-stricken Burnet County to run so low on water that it had to be hauled in by truck. New York Times 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
India, EU try to break logjam over airline carbon tax. The European Union is willing to consider whether India's efforts to reduce carbon emissions could qualify for waivers under an EU law that charges airlines for polluting, the 27-nation bloc's climate chief said on Friday. Reuters 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
EU climate chief sees 'unpleasant' talks ahead. EU climate chief Connie Hedegaard acknowledged Friday that "difficult and unpleasant" negotiations lay ahead with countries like India and China to agree a global framework to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. Agence France-Presse 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Looking forward, Fiji turns to its canoeing past. As the world potentially sinks deeper into recession and issues of climate change are felt even in the smallest of Fiji’s outer islands, going back to canoeing traditions of the past could prove a financial way forward. New York Times 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
New USDA map shows Holland as warmer than Grand Rapids. An updated map released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the Holland area in Michigan doesn’t get as cold in the winter as Grand Rapids does. The Holland area wasn’t the only one classified slightly warmer, based on the new data. Holland Sentinel 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Tapeworms and climate change. There’s at least one species that may thrive on our warming planet: that’s the tapeworm that spends most of its life inside the stickleback fish. Living On Earth 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Warming seas and corals: A new conundrum. In research conducted off western Australia, scientists found that coral growth in that region had accelerated through the 20th century as ocean temperatures warmed. The effect was most pronounced at higher latitudes where the ocean tends to be colder — a strong indication that the warming caused by human release of carbon dioxide is benefiting corals in that region. New York Times 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Island nations want climate change in world court. Small island nations, whose very existence is threatened by the rising sea levels brought about by global warming, are seeking to take the issue of climate change before the International Court of Justice. Associated Press 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Hickenlooper talks energy, water, pensions. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper espoused several strong positions, including global warming and revolutionary vehicle fuel this week during a speech to a Southern Colorado advocacy group. Pueblo Chieftain 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Monitoring plan would bolster oilsands image, federal documents show. Despite "high-profile" concerns raised about water contamination, human health and threats to ecosystems, internal federal documents suggest the real reason governments are stepping up monitoring efforts on the oilsands sector is to boost the industry's sagging reputation. Postmedia News 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Rare February blizzard rages in Denver. While snow in Colorado isn't unusual, it's rare for Denver and eastern Colorado to get a storm of this magnitude during February. Most of Denver's snow comes during the fall and spring, and this storm may break records for the biggest February snowstorm. Climate Central 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
How green zealots are destroying the planet. The real deniers are those ideological greens who refuse to look at hard evidence and won’t accept that their well-intentioned schemes to make our world a better place are in fact making it uglier, poorer and less free. London Daily Mail 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Time is ripe for wind energy. Though the 2010 census reported a stagnant population growth in Nebraska, a state relatively unaffected by the recession, a statewide transition to capitalize on wind energy potential could revolutionize and reinvigorate the Nebraska economy to one fit for the world of tomorrow. Lincoln Journal Star 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
Obama won't touch climate with a 10-foot pole. In his State of the Union address on January 24, President Obama largely avoided the topic of climate change. But there are several reasons that Obama won't be able to avoid talking about climate change for too long – and well he shouldn't. Mother Jones 2012-02-04T09:00-05:00
How the stimulus revived the electric car. One success the Obama administration can duly claim is the rebirth of the electric-car industry in the United States. The question is: Will it last? ProPublica 2012-02-03T09:00-05:00
Clear and present dangers not so clear, or present. Let’s face it, human beings are not very good at dealing with distant, relatively uncertain threats. By the time some of the worst consequences of climate change clearly manifest themselves as near-term challenges, it will be too late to stop them. Climate Central 2012-02-03T09:00-05:00
Drought may dry up Texas rice crop. A day of reckoning looms for the state’s rice growers, who pump millions into Southeast Texas each year and account for 5 percent of America’s rice. Come March 1, if there is not enough water in reservoirs along the Lower Colorado River, managers will take the unprecedented step of withholding water from agriculture. Climate Central 2012-02-03T09:00-05:00
Evidence for jellyfish invasion is lacking. Over the last decade, reports of proliferating jellyfish have multiplied, as have fears that they are overrunning the world’s oceans. In a new study, however, researchers argue that there simply isn’t enough long-term data to conclude that global jellyfish numbers are on the rise. New York Times 2012-02-03T09:00-05:00
Storm over climate change among weather forecasters. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. But weather forecasters, many of whom see climate change as a natural, cyclical phenomenon, are split over whether they have a responsibility to educate viewers on the link between human activity and the change in the Earth's climates. Reuters 2012-02-03T09:00-05:00
Temperatures – not acid – could cook coral to death. A warming ocean is encouraging the growth of coral in the far Southern Hemisphere, according to new research published in Science – suggesting that temperature changes play a bigger role, at least in the near term, in the fate of corals than any ocean acidification. Scientific American 2012-02-03T09:00-05:00