Another week of GW News, February 21, 2010

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

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Another week of Climate Disruption News

Information overload is pattern recognition

February 21, 2010

• Chuckles, de Boer Resignation, Copenhagen, UN-CFG, AAAS, Greenhouse Effect, Snow, Branson, Gates, iPhone App
• Bottom Line, Dunning-Kruger, IPCC, RealClimate on IPCC, FOI as a Weapon, Mann, CRU, Denialist Campaign
• Melting Arctic, Permafrost Line, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Food vs. Biofuel, Land Grabs, Food Production
• Hurricanes, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Temperatures, Menne, Aerosols, Paleoclimate
• ENSO, Solar, Tipping Points, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Wacky Weather, Wildfires, Corals, Acidification, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering
• Journals, Other Docs , Misc. Science, Pielke
• Kyoto, UN, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Tobin Tax
• Security, Law & Activism, Religioso, Polls, Farming Practices, Premiers & Governors, Resource War
• America, Obama, Congress, Britain, Europe, Australia, China, Asia, South America, Canada
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Courts
• Energy, Fracking, Wind, Solar, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Grid, Cars, V2G, Business
• Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Miscellaneous Climate, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

Ha. Ha. Very funny.

1. 2010/02/20: ClimateP: (cartoon - Toles) Why should we believe the earth is round, just because scientists say so?
2. 2010/02/18: TCoE: (cartoon - xkcd) Ouch. Maybe triple-ouch.
3. 2010/02/16: TI:CF: (cartoon - Roberts) Salt and Vinegar
4. 2010/02/17: TI:CF: (cartoon - Roberts) Travelling man
5. 2010/02/15: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Fed Up
6. 2010/02/15: ClimateP: (cartoon - Toles) Throw the bums out!
7. 2010/02/15: TheSpoof: Mysterious source of global warming identified
8. 2010/02/14: ClimateSight: (cartoons - xkcd) Characters You May Recognize

   The resignation of Yvo de Boer this week energized the 'where is the climate treaty?' conversation:

9. 2010/02/20: FTimes: Barometer of progress on climate change [de Boer]
10. 2010/02/18: EnvFin: UN climate chief quits to join consultancy group
11. 2010/02/19: DerSpiegel: UN Climate Chief Throws in the Towel -- De Boer Will Be a Hard Act to Follow
    A climate agreement looks remote following the chaos of the Copenhagen summit and now United Nations climate chief Yvo de Boer has thrown in the towel. UN chief Ban Ki-moon is on the lookout for a suitable successor -- someone who won't be daunted by the mammoth task ahead.
12. 2010/02/19: DerSpiegel: The World from Berlin -- 'De Boer's Resignation Is Catastrophic'
    Yvo de Boer, the UN's climate chief, has announced his resignation. In the wake of an unsuccessful summit in Copenhagen he plans to leave diplomacy altogether and join a big-business consultancy as a climate expert. German papers aren't sure what's worse -- his departure from the UN, or the disappointments of Copenhagen.
13. 2010/02/19: Guardian(UK): After Yvo de Boer, what are we looking for in our new climate change chief?
    Yvo de Boer's successor must be equally as hard-working -- and must ensure that the voices of the most vulnerable are not sidelined by the most powerful in the climate debate
14. 2010/02/19: EurActiv: New era for climate diplomacy as UN chief resigns
    A new era of climate diplomacy is about to start after the Copenhagen summit fell short of agreeing a new legally-binding agreement, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said, announcing his resignation yesterday (18 February). Meanwhile, the EU's commissioner for climate action, Connie Hedegaard, will embark on a world tour to reinvigorate talks.
15. 2010/02/19: KSJT: Lots of Ink and Anguish: UN climate chief quits
16. 2010/02/19: ABC(Au): Climate chief's resignation sparks treaty talk
17. 2010/02/19: WaPo: Climate pact appears increasingly fragile; U.N. official quits
18. 2010/02/19: BBerg: De Boer Quits UN Post in 'Sad Day' for Carbon Market
19. 2010/02/19: SolveClimate: For Developing Nation Advocates, Hope and Fear for a New UN Climate Chief
20. 2010/02/18: CSM: UN climate chief Yvo de Boer resigns
21. 2010/02/18: Guardian(UK): Yvo de Boer's career as UN climate chief (7 pictures)
22. 2010/02/18: Guardian(UK): Yvo de Boer's resignation compounds sense of gathering climate crisis
23. 2010/02/18: Guardian(UK): Yvo de Boer's successor has big footprints to fill
24. 2010/02/18: Guardian(UK): Yvo de Boer steps down as UN climate chief to work for accountants KPMG
25. 2010/02/18: Guardian(UK): Profile: Yvo de Boer -- Former Dutch diplomat left exhausted by impossible job heading UN climate body
26. 2010/02/18: UN: UN climate chief stepping down
27. 2010/02/18: ScienceInsider: U.N. Climate Leader Yvo de Boer to Step Down
28. 2010/02/18: ABC(Au): Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will resign as of July 1
29. 2010/02/18: NewScientist:SSS: Yvo de Boer resigns and admits Copenhagen failure
30. 2010/02/18: Grist: Two months after Copenhagen summit, U.N. climate pointman to quit
31. 2010/02/18: NRDC:SwitchBoard: UN Climate Executive Secretary Resigns: His Legacy and Where We Go Next
32. 2010/02/18: TreeHugger: UN Climate Chief Yvo de Boer to Step Down
33. 2010/02/18: EarthTimes: UN chief regrets climate official's resignation
34. 2010/02/18: EarthTimes: UN's top climate change official Yvo de Boer resigns
35. 2010/02/18: Reuters: U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer to quit in July
36. 2010/02/18: NatureCF: UN climate chief resigns -- UN climate chief Yvo de Boer announced today that he will step down on July 1 after nearly four years in the post
37. 2010/02/18: BBC: Top UN climate official Yvo de Boer resigns
    Yvo de Boer, the UN's top climate change official, says he will resign after nearly four years in the post. His departure takes effect from 1 July, five months before 193 countries are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt at a global deal on climate. Nations failed to reach a binding deal at the Copenhagen meeting in December. Mr de Boer said he was announcing his departure now so that a successor could be found well before the Mexico meeting later this year. The former Dutch civil servant was appointed as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2006. As the UN's climate negotiator, he was widely credited with raising the profile of climate change issues.
38. 2010/02/18: CBC: UN climate change chief Yvo de Boer to resign
39. 2010/02/18: WaPo: U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer to quit in July
    Yvo de Boer, the United Nation's top climate official, announced Thursday that he would step down from his post in July to work in the private sector on environmental sustainability. De Boer has overseen international climate talks for nearly four years, laboring without success to produce a legally binding pact to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. His departure comes amidst uncertainty as to whether the 193 member nations of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change can produce a final treaty in Mexico in December.

And there's some talk yet of Copenhagen:

40. 2010/02/18: TerraDaily: Copenhagen climate summit a 'failure': Medvedev
41. 2010/02/15: CCurrents: Copenhagen Failed Us. What Do We Do Next?
42. 2010/02/16: Grist: Is the Copenhagen Accord already dead?
43. 2010/02/15: Reuters: Bangladesh PM seeks early climate fund disbursement
    Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday urged donors countries to come up quickly with promised funds to help her country limit the effects of climate change. World leaders pledged an initial $10 billion fund at the December climate summit in Copenhagen to help least developed countries (LDCs) most vulnerable to climate change, particularly low-lying costal states like Bangladesh.
44. 2010/02/15: Guardian(UK): Bangladesh rejects £60m of climate aid from UK
    The Bangladeshi government objects to grant money being channelled through the World Bank, which it says will attach unfavourable "strings and conditions"
45. 2010/02/16: GWWatch: Where do we go from here?
46. 2010/02/14: CanWest: Is the Copenhagen Accord already dead?
47. 2010/02/15: TerraDaily: Copenhagen [Accord] Near Death; IPCC Finds New Errors [Holland]

    Late coverage of the UN-CFG:

48. 2010/02/15: IPSNews: U.N. to Mobilise Funds for Developing Nations
    After countries failed to reach a binding agreement on greenhouse gas emissions at the crucial Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December, the United Nations moving forward to enforce a pledge to help developing countries cope with the worst impacts. The launch of the Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing follows the Copenhagen Accord, the final agreement of last year's meet, part of which states that 100 billion dollars per year will be needed to help developing countries with adaption and mitigation efforts. Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, and his counterpart from Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, are co-chairing the group.

The AAAS Annual Meeting is going down in San Diego:

49. AAAS: 2010 Annual Meeting: 18-22 February; San Diego
50. Eureka: AAAS Newsroom
51. 2010/02/19: NatureTGB: AAAS dog, pony and dolphin show kicks off
52. 2010/02/19: KSJT: AAAS San Diego cranking out some news...
53. 2010/02/19: Eureka: Carnegie Mellon's Edward S. Rubin to discuss US energy strategies -- Curbing global climate change [at AAAS]
54. 2010/02/19: Eureka: Idea of restoring 'natural systems' misses mark as response to climate change challenges
55. 2010/02/19: Maribo: Will Coral Reefs Disappear? Symposium on Sunday at AAAS
56. 2010/02/18: Eureka: Understanding global climate change through new breakthroughs in polar research [AAAS]

    Last week Eli, this week Chris, next week...?

57. 2010/02/18: CC: Greenhouse effect revisited...

    Late coverage of US snow:

58. 2010/02/19: C411: Weather and Climate in the Face of the "Snowpocalypse"
59. 2010/02/15: ClimateP: An amazing, though clearly little-known, scientific fact: We get more snow storms in warm years!
60. 2010/02/15: DM:SRK: A Warming Planet Can Mean More Snow

    Branson has a Carbon War Room?

61. 2010/02/18: CanWest: Richard Branson launches civic carbon challenge
    Sir Richard Branson's Carbon War Room ramped up its climate-change battle Wednesday in Vancouver with a call to civic governments to become global leaders in cutting fossil fuel emissions. The War Room is looking for 10 cities to participate in a 30-month pilot program intended to provide both government and private sector the financial means to aggressively improve energy efficiency projects. The global non-profit initiative was launched in August 2008 to help communities, businesses and financial institutions develop a common set of tools for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. War Room is calling the civic initiative "Green Capital - Global Challenge."

That TED talk by Bill [640k] Gates generated a lot of comment:

62. 2010/02/19: Grist: Gates Foundation ignores reality, hypes latest GMO 'vaporware' instead
63. 2010/02/19: PeakEnergy: Innovation != technology: Why Bill Gates is wrong
64. 2010/02/17: Grist: Why Bill Gates is wrong
65. 2010/02/18: TreeHugger: Bill Gates at TED 2010: Climate and Energy
66. 2010/02/14: ClimateP: Bill Gates is wrong about "energy miracles" [TED speech analysis]
67. 2010/02/15: WorldChanging: When We Talk Zero, We Sound Crazy. When Bill Gates Does It, Bankers Pick Up the Phone

    John Cook got a lot of publicity for his free Skeptical Science iPhone app:

68. 2010/02/19: ClimateShifts: The new SkepticalScience iphone app: perfect for rebutting cranky misinformed deniers like Gene Shinn
69. 2010/02/19: GreenHerring: Confused about climate? There's an app for that!
70. 2010/02/19: RealClimate: Throw your iPhone into the climate debate
71. 2010/02/17: Guardian(UK): Top 10 green iPhone apps
72. 2010/02/17: Guardian(UK): iPhone app pitches climate change science against scepticism
    Deniers queue up to lambast Skeptical Science application developed by solar physicist John Cook. Now there's a surprise
73. 2010/02/15: MGS: iPhone climate app

    And on the Bottom Line:

74. 2010/02/20: NYT: A Small Price for a Large Benefit
    Forecasts involving climate change are highly uncertain, denialists assert -- a point that climate researchers themselves readily concede. The denialists view the uncertainty as strengthening their case for inaction, yet a careful weighing of the relevant costs and benefits supports taking exactly the opposite course. Organizers of the recent climate conference in Copenhagen sought, unsuccessfully, to forge agreements to limit global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. But even an increase that small would cause deadly harm. And far greater damage is likely if we do nothing.
75. 2010/02/20: EconView: "A Small Price for a Large Benefit"
    Robert Frank says climate change denialists are wrong when they assert that uncertainty translates into inaction
76. 2010/02/19: Guardian(UK): Time to clean up: UN study reveals environmental cost of world trade
    Political pressure is growing to make big businesses pay for the damage they cause to the environment
77. 2010/02/18: Guardian(UK): World's top firms cause $2.2tn of environmental damage, report estimates
    Report for the UN into the activities of the world's 3,000 biggest companies estimates one-third of profits would be lost if firms were forced to pay for use, loss and damage of environment
78. 2010/02/15: TheAge: Zero emissions possible - at $40bn a year
    Australia could move to 100 per cent renewable energy within a decade if it spent heavily on cutting-edge solar thermal and wind technology, according to an analysis released as part of a community bid to redirect the flailing climate policy debate. The shift would require the annual investment of up to $40 billion - roughly 3.5 per cent of national GDP - with the largest chunk going towards solar thermal power plants that used molten-salt heat storage to allow power generation to continue without sunlight.

One of those goodies that can give anyone pause:

79. 2010/02/15: SkeptiSci: The Dunning-Kruger effect and the climate debate
80. 2010/02/15: TCoE: Critical concepts: Dunning-Kruger Effect

    The future of the IPCC is still being tossed around:

81. 2010/02/18: ClimateP: The IPCC lowballs likely impacts with its instantly out-of-date reports and is clearly clueless on messaging -- should it be booted or just rebooted?
82. 2010/02/11: WWF:CB: Statement from WWF Regarding the IPCC and the Strength of our Science
83. 2010/02/16: EarthTimes: UN climate change panel urged to review methods [by Gunnar Oquist, permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]

    This RealClimate post showed up all over the net:

84. 2010/02/18: SolveClimate: IPCC Errors: Fact and Spin
85. 2010/02/16: EnergyBulletin: IPCC errors: facts and spin
86. 2010/02/15: Guardian(UK): IPCC errors: facts and spin
87. 2010/02/15: ClimateShifts: IPCC errors: facts and spin
88. 2010/02/14: RealClimate: IPCC errors: facts and spin

    More on the FOI as a weapon:

89. 2010/02/15: ERabett: Experience -- how much work it is to respond to FOI(A) requests

    Michael Mann still has tongues wagging:

90. 2010/02/15: TheBenshi: #13) Mike Mann Part I: The Media are Not Necessarily Your Friends
91. 2010/02/18: TheBenshi: #14) Mike Mann Part II: Interview -- Who will provide communication expertise and leadership for the science community?
92. 2010/02/19: GreenHerring: Prof. Mike Mann speaks out
93. 2010/02/19: CSICOP: Mann Bites Dog: Why 'Climategate' Was Newsworthy
94. 2010/02/19: DeSmogBlog: CSI Charges Mann-attackers with Perjury
95. 2010/02/15: S&R: Experts say alleged PSU cover up of Mann misconduct "extremely unlikely"

    There is still some chatter about the CRU Email theft:

96. 2010/02/20: ClimateWTF: How Skeptics Distorted the CRU Emails In the Name of "Climategate" (Part 1)
97. 2010/02/20: BCLSB: ICO Vs. UEA In FOI Flap Over CRU Emails!!! Is The Biter Bit?
98. 2010/02/17: BCLSB: CRU Hacker Speaks?

    The campaign to discredit Pachauri, the IPCC and climate scientists in general continues:

99. 2010/02/20: BDL: "Economist" Russ Roberts: Liar Gullible
100. 2010/02/21: ABC(Au): Climate science alive and well, say experts
     Top scientists say climate science is alive and well despite the scandal of leaked emails in Britain and "glitches" in a report by the UN climate change panel.
101. 2010/02/19: G&M: Climategate's guerrilla warriors: pesky foes or careful watchdogs?
102. 2010/02/21: Guardian(UK): Attacks on climate change research are damaging the public's faith in science [Cicerone]
103. 2010/02/19: SciNow: Scientists Grapple With 'Completely Out of Hand' Attacks on Climate Science
104. 2010/02/19: SciNow: [mp3] Podcast: How Did Climate Science Get So Politicized?
105. 2010/02/19: ClimateShifts: Shout down the sceptics -- Climate change sceptics are really making my unborn grandchildren angry
106. 2010/02/20: DM:CCM: Attacks on Climate Science Now "Completely Out of Hand"
107. 2010/02/18: ClimateWTF: Example of Pseudogate
108. 2010/02/20: BBC: Science 'damaged' by climate row
     Leading scientists say that the recent controversies surrounding climate research have damaged the image of science as a whole. President of the US National Academy of Sciences, Ralph Cicerone, said scandals including the "climategate" e-mail row had eroded public trust in scientists. His comment came at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Diego.
109. 2010/02/19: HotTopic: Economist says climate science deserves praise
110. 2010/02/19: EconView: "The Phony Attack on Climate Science"
     Jeff Sachs attacks the attacks on climate science backed by Exxon Mobile, the WSJ editorial pages, and others determined to stop climate change legislation...
111. 2010/02/18: DeSmogBlog: Selective Journalism
112. 2010/02/16: FP:BH: Is the NYT ignoring "Climategate"? Part II
113. 2010/02/15: FP:BH: Is the New York Times ignoring "Climategate"?
114. 2010/02/18: G&M: The doubters do disservice to climate facts -- There is no real IPCC scandal. Its stand on global warming cannot be ignored
115. 2010/02/18: NRDC:SwitchBoard: What We Know and How We Know It
116. 2010/02/18: MTobis: Open letter from a Glacier Scientist
117. 2010/02/18: BCLSB: All Those "Gates"...and yet the ice still melts, and the Permafrost line still recedes...
118. 2010/02/17: MTobis: The Fundamentals Haven't Changed
119. 2010/02/17: NatureN: Setting the climate record straight -- A co-chair of the IPCC's beleaguered second working group [Martin Parry] discusses recent criticisms
120. 2010/02/17: KSJT: Wash. Post, Guardian, and more: A catch-up on IPCC, e-mail hacks, Mike Mann attacks, and all that talkin' smack out there
121. 2010/02/16: TerraDaily: Climate skeptics exploiting scandal: US envoy [Todd Stern]
122. 2010/02/16: RealClimate: Whatevergate
123. 2010/02/16: ScienceInsider: An Overview of IPCC/Climategate Criticism
124. 2010/02/16: ClimateP: BBC asks CRU's Phil Jones the climate version of "When did you stop beating your wife."
125. 2010/02/16: ERabett: Mr. Pachauri Is Not Pleased.
126. 2010/02/16: BSD: Hello, Telegraph? Ice climbs return each year unless there's climate change
127. 2010/02/16: Tamino: Growthgate
128. 2010/02/16: BBC: Harrabin's Notes: Climate 'Armistice'
     In his regular column, BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin asks whether bloggers sceptical of man made global warming can be reconciled with the UN's climate body.
129. 2010/02/15: Guardian(UK): Climate scientists are losing ground against deniers' disinformation
130. 2010/02/15: EurActiv: UN climate panel admits Dutch sea level flaw
131. 2010/02/15: Times(UK): UN must investigate warming 'bias', says former climate chief [Watson]
132. 2010/02/15: NatureTGB: Climate scientists under pressure round-up
133. 2010/02/15: NatureN: 'Climategate' scientist speaks out -- Climatologist Phil Jones answers his critics in an exclusive interview with Nature
134. 2010/02/15: NatureCF: Climatologist Phil Jones fights back
135. 2010/02/15: ABC(Au): The UN climate change panel has admitted to having imprecisely stated in a key report that 55 per cent of The Netherlands is under sea level, saying that is only the area at risk of flooding
136. 2010/02/14: NRDC:SwitchBoard: And Now, Pachaurigate
137. 2010/02/15: SMH: UN climate change chief [Rajendra Pachauri] escapes the heat
138. 2010/02/15: WaPo: Series of missteps by climate scientists threatens climate-change agenda
139. 2010/02/15: RealClimate: Daily Mangle
     Yesterday, the Daily Mail of the UK published a predictably inaccurate article entitled "Climategate U-turn as scientist at centre of row admits: There has been no global warming since 1995".
140. 2010/02/15: ClimateP: RoseGate becomes DailyMailGate: Error-riddled articles and false statements destroy Daily Mail's credibilty
     Two top climate scientists and the NSIDC accuse Daily Mail of misquoting and misrepresenting them or their work.
141. 2010/02/15: TStar: UN climate panel's errors no excuse to put work on ice by Achim Steiner -- World can't afford further delay in facing up to the challenges of climate change
142. 2010/02/15: TStar: Spin is in, but climate change still there
143. 2010/02/15: GreenHerring: Climate comeback -- pushing back against the recent attacks on the IPCC
144. 2010/02/14: Guardian(UK): Climate scientist says Himalayan glacier report is 'robust and rigorous'
     Parry 'perplexed' at media's 'clamour without substance' - Scientist also cites differing figures over Netherlands error

The Arctic melt continues to garner a lot of attention:

145. 2010/02/19: SciDaily: Missing 'Ice Arches' Contributed to 2007 Arctic Ice Loss
146. 2010/02/17: TreeHugger: Subtropical Water Melting Greenland Glaciers from Within
147. 2010/02/16: WHOI: Team finds subtropical waters flushing through Greenland fjord
148. 2010/02/14: TCoE: Greenland glaciers melting from the bottom up

     A report the permafrost line is moving north in Canada raised an eyebrow or two:

149. 2010/02/18: FuturePundit: Permafrost Line Moves North In Canada
150. 2010/02/18: TreeHugger: Canada's Permafrost Has Moved North 80 Miles in Past 50 Years
151. 2010/02/17: Reuters: Canada's permafrost retreats amid warming trend
152. 2010/02/18: CanWest: Permafrost receding quickly: study -- Researchers find growth along James Bay moving rapidly northward
     The thawing and decay of telltale, reddish mounds along the eastern shore of James Bay have led a team of Quebec researchers to conclude that the region's permafrost line has moved rapidly northward -- about 130 kilometres in just 50 years -- as part of a broader transformation of Canada's sub-Arctic frontier in the age of climate change. And the researchers from Université Laval warn that "if the trend continues, permafrost in the region will completely disappear in the near future."
153. 2010/02/17: Eureka: Permafrost line recedes 130 km in 50 years
     The southern limit of permanently frozen ground, or permafrost, is now 130 kilometers further north than it was 50 years ago in the James Bay region, according to two researchers from the Department of Biology at Université Laval. In a recent issue of the scientific journal Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, Serge Payette and Simon Thibault suggest that, if the trend continues, permafrost in the region will completely disappear in the near future.

As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

154. 2010/02/17: EmbassyMag: Canada called out by Arctic allies -- Iceland, Finland and Sweden frustrated at non-invitations to Arctic summit

     While in Antarctica:

155. 2010/02/18: Economist: Polar ice shelves -- The coup de grace that shatters ice shelves is administered by ocean waves
156. 2010/02/16: RDunbar: Iceberg City
157. 2010/02/17: RDunbar: A Sea of Icebergs

     The food crisis is ongoing:

158. 2010/02/19: FAO: Food crisis looms in rural Haiti -- FAO and CARE collaborate on cash-for-work programme in Léogâne
159. 2010/02/17: BBC: Climate 'a threat' to Tajikistan -- Extreme weather conditions and melting glaciers pose a great threat to its food security and social stability
160. 2010/02/17: SeedDaily: Dramatic Changes In Agriculture Needed As World Warms And Grows
161. 2010/02/17: CBC: U.S. rules hurt aid to Somalia: UN
     A decision by U.S. officials to cut humanitarian aid to a large area of Somalia controlled by suspected terrorists is putting hundreds of thousands of people there at risk, a UN official said Wednesday.
162. 2010/02/16: TreeHugger: Agricultural Free Trade & Market Fundamentalism Increased Poverty for Millions of Africans
163. 2010/02/15: Eureka: Free trade, loss of support systems crippling food production in Africa
164. 2010/02/15: PhysOrg: Free trade, loss of support systems crippling food production in Africa
     Despite good intentions, the push to privatize government functions and insistence upon "free trade" that is too often unfair has caused declining food production, increased poverty and a hunger crisis for millions of people in many African nations, researchers conclude in a new study. Market reforms that began in the mid-1980s and were supposed to aid economic growth have actually backfired in some of the poorest nations in the world, and just in recent years led to multiple food riots, scientists report today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a professional journal.

The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

165. 2010/02/19: PlanetArk: FAO Sees Demand, Biofuels, Oil Fuelling Food Prices
     Resumed demand for agricultural commodities for food and energy use and higher input costs on the back of rising oil prices may fuel a new food price surge, the United Nations' food agency said on Thursday. Food prices fell from 2008 highs due to the global economic downturn, but remained above pre-peak levels and were set to stay high at least in the medium term, the Food and Agriculture Organization said, confirming earlier forecasts.
166. 2010/02/17: CCurrents: Biofuels: Driving Over The Hungry
167. 2010/02/16: Eureka: Beyond the corn field: Balancing fuel, food and biodiversity -- New report outlines trade-offs of biofuel production
168. 2010/02/10: Forbes: America's Food-To-Fuel Problem -- Government-mandated ethanol production is bad any way you shuck it
169. 2010/02/15: Guardian(UK): EU biofuels significantly harming food production in developing countries
     EU biofuels 10% targets cause millions of peope to go hungry and increase food prices and landlessness, says report
170. 2010/02/15: EurActiv: EU biofuels target could starve millions of people
     Millions of people could starve if member states deliver on the EU's target of sourcing 10% of its transport fuel from biofuels as a way of tackling climate change, argues a new report from ActionAid, an NGO. "The huge expansion in industrial biofuels use must be stopped," said ActionAid's biofuels expert Tim Rice, calling for EU governments to refrain from increasing their use further while drafting national action plans for renewable energy for the next 10 years. Currently made from maize, wheat, sugar cane and oil seeds such as palm oil, soy and rapeseed, industrial biofuels compete with crops grown for food, "driving food prices higher and affecting what and how much people eat in developing countries," notes the ActionAid report on the impact of industrial biofuels on global hunger. "For every 1% rise in the price of food, 16 million more poor people are made hungry," it estimates.

So, are these land grabs Colonialism V2.0?

171. 2010/02/15: PlanetArk: UAE's MEC In Talks To Lease Indonesian Farmland: Executive
     The UAE's Minerals Energy Commodities Holding (MEC) is in talks with Indonesia to lease around 100,000 hectares (247,100 acres) of farmland, the firm's vice chairman said on Sunday. Gulf countries, mainly reliant on food imports, have ramped up efforts to buy land in developing nations such as Pakistan, the Philippines and Ethiopia to secure food supplies. The farmland MEC plans to lease is located in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province, the region where MEC also has a railway and coal project worth around $1 billion.

And how are we going to feed 9 billion?

172. 2010/02/20: EnergyBulletin: Food fight
173. 2010/02/18: FAO: Towards a more sustainable livestock sector -- FAO report analyzes the rapidly changing global livestock production
174. 2010/02/20: OilDrum: Is There Enough Food Out There For Nine Billion People?
175. 2010/02/20: CanWest: 'Enviropigs' clear key federal regulatory hurdle -- But genetically engineered swine still need to be approved for human consumption
176. 2010/02/09: IndiaToday: Ex-chief of Monsanto talks against Bt brinjal
     The debate on genetically modified (GM) brinjal variety continues to generate heat. Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so. Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the new variety during the public consultation held in Bangalore on Saturday. On Monday, he elaborated by saying the company "used to fake scientific data" submitted to government regulatory agencies to get commercial approvals for its products in India. The former Monsanto boss said government regulatory agencies with which the company used to deal with in the 1980s simply depended on data supplied by the company while giving approvals to herbicides.
177. 2010/02/19: GreenGrok: Food Fight -- A Menu of Ideas for Feeding Nine Billion
178. 2010/02/18: EnergyBulletin: The Fierce Urgency of This Spring: Veggie Seeds & Nut Seedlings for Us All
179. 2010/02/17: UN: Smallholders, rural producers key to slashing global hunger and poverty - Ban
     Smallholders and rural producers have a vital role to play in overcoming global hunger and poverty, and new and varied partnerships are needed, with particular emphasis on the interests of women, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today. "With more than 1 billion people now suffering from hunger, the highest number in human history, there is simply no time to lose," he told the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty in the rural areas of developing countries where 75 per cent of the world's poorest -- or some 1.05 billion people -- live.
180. 2010/02/18: GreenGrok: Permaculture, Forever Sustainability
181. 2010/02/15: CCurrents: GM Crops: All That You Want To Know But Were Never Told
182. 2010/02/15: SciDaily: New Maize Varieties to Boost Grain Production in West and Central Africa

     Gelane blew around the South Indian ocean while Rene bothered the South Central Pacific:

183. 2010/02/18: PhysOrg: In a wink, the TRMM satellite sees Gelane's smaller eye
184. 2010/02/19: NASA: Small and Mighty Cyclone Gelane Reaches Category Four Strength
185. 2010/02/16: NASA: Cyclone Rene Slams Tonga, Moves Into Open Waters
186. 2010/02/16: NASA: NASA Sees Sixteenth South Pacific Tropical Cyclone [16S] Form
187. 2010/02/16: TerraDaily: Tonga mops up after Cyclone Rene
188. 2010/02/15: TerraDaily: Cyclone Rene slams into Tonga
189. 2010/02/15: EarthTimes: Tropical Cyclone Rene batters Tonga

     Elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

190. 2010/02/17: NOAANews: NOAA National Weather Service to Use New Hurricane Wind Scale -- Storm Surge and Flooding Prediction Dropped in New Scale

     As for GHGs:

191. 2010/02/18: SkeptiSci: Visual depictions of CO2 levels and CO2 emissions
192. 2010/02/18: PlanetArk: Norway Outlines Ways To Reach Deep [30%] 2020 CO2 Cuts [from 1990 levels]
193. 2010/02/17: TreeHugger: Norway Reveals Stunning Plan to Cut CO2 Emissions 30% in 10 Years
194. 2010/02/16: Guardian(UK): Tullow Oil given licence to flare Ugandan gas -- could release huge volumes of greenhouse gases
195. 2010/02/14: NYT: Pinpointing Emissions at Their Source
     The recent Copenhagen climate talks faltered in part over how to verify that nations are actually reducing their carbon emissions. Likewise, the integrity of emissions trading markets, like the one under consideration by the U.S. Congress, will depend on the ability to accurately measure greenhouse gases. That's creating a burgeoning global business for Picarro, a Silicon Valley company that makes portable analyzers that take precise real-time measurements of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases. The machines also allow scientists to pinpoint the source of emissions.

And in the carbon cycle:

196. 2010/02/16: NatureN: Trees spit out gas from soil microbes -- Trunks act as giant methane chimneys

     As for the temperature record:

197. 2010/02/20: DWWSJ: January Global Temps 4th Warmest On Record- NOAA
198. 2010/02/18: ClimateShifts: NOAA report indicates January 2010 one of the warmest on record
199. 2010/02/19: Wunderground: January 2010: extremes and monthly summary
200. 2010/02/16: Yale360: U.S. Climate Data Reliable And Did Not Boost Temperatures, Study Says
201. 2010/02/17: Wunderground: Warmest January on record for the lower atmosphere
202. 2010/02/16: ClimateP: NOAA: Warmest January in both satellite records
203. 2010/02/16: CCP: NOAA's National Climatic Data Center: State of the Climate Global Analysis for January 2010
204. 2010/02/14: TPL: A GHCN [Global Historical Climatology Network] Analysis

     Late coverage of Menne et al.:

205. 2010/02/15: Guardian(UK): Scientists dispute climate sceptic's claim that US weather data is useless
     Ex-weatherman Anthony Watts says many US weather stations produce unreliable data because they are located next to artificial heat -- but a scientific analysis suggests that, if anything, such stations underestimate warming

Aerosols are making their presence felt:

206. 2010/02/19: NewScientist: Smoke bomb: The other climate culprits
207. 2010/02/19: PhysOrg: Dust in the Earth system
208. 2010/02/18: NatureN: Asian pollution delays inevitable warming -- Dirty power plants exert temporary protective effect

     While in the paleoclimate:

209. 2010/02/16: FuturePundit: 100 Million Year Ago Volcanoes Cut Oxygen Supply
210. 2010/02/18: PhysOrg: Deep in sediments off Antarctica, Stanford scientists find insight into past -- and possible future -- climates
211. 2010/02/16: Eureka: The carbon cycle before humans -- Two studies provide clearer picture of how carbon cycle was dramatically affected long ago
212. 2010/02/16: PhysOrg: The carbon cycle before humans
213. 2010/02/15: BBC: Fossils 'record past sea changes'
     Fossilised coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef could help scientists understand how sea levels have changed over the past 20,000 years. An international team of researchers will spend 45 days at sea, gathering core samples from about 40 sites. Described as the "trees of the sea", coral have growth rings that show seasonal variations. Researchers say the samples will also shed light on past sea temperatures, as well as other changes to the reef. Alan Stevenson, team leader of marine geology at the British Geological Survey (BGS), which is involved in the project, said the fossilised corals' annual growth rings provided an insight to conditions under waves. "We can then analyse those rings to build up a very detailed picture of what the ocean was like when they were forming, including temperature and salinity.

And on the ENSO front:

214. 2010/02/18: TerraDaily: El Nino hurting drought-struck Philippine farms
215. 2010/02/17: BWeek: El Nino Will Keep Weather Unsettled Even as It Starts to Fade
216. 2010/02/17: KSJT: Bloomberg, Orange Cty. Register: Adios, El Niño, but until you go...

     Regarding the solar hypothesis:

217. 2010/02/19: SkeptiSci: What would happen if the sun fell to Maunder Minimum levels?
218. 2010/02/19: SolveClimate: Sunspots and Climate Change: Study Shows Humans Still Play the Key Role
     A Solar Minimum Would Cool Temps, but Not Enough to Balance Human Activity

Tipping points put in an appearance:

219. 2010/02/15: HotTopic: Tipping and other points

     Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

220. 2010/02/19: ScienceInsider: Rocket Snag Will Delay Launch of [CryoSat-2] Spacecraft to Monitor Polar Ice
221. 2010/02/19: SciDaily: CryoSat-2 Launch Delayed
222. 2010/02/17: PhysOrg: NASA Studies Recent Storms to Improve Space Based Global Weather Monitoring
223. 2010/02/15: PhysOrg: CryoSat to observe Earth's ice cover (w/ Video)
     Using a sophisticated radar altimeter called SIRAL (Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometric Radar Altimetry), CryoSat-2 will make accurate measurements of the thickness of floating sea-ice so that seasonal to inter-annual variations can be detected. It will also survey the surface of continental ice sheets to detect small elevation changes. The European Space Agency is about to launch the most sophisticated satellite ever to investigate the Earth's ice fields and map ice thickness over water and land: lift-off scheduled for 25 February.

More GW impacts are being seen:

224. 2010/02/19: BBC: Climate changes are behind a dramatic shift in the numbers of wetland birds visiting the UK, a study suggests
225. 2010/02/19: Telegraph(UK): Increasing dust 'down to Icelandic glaciers'
226. 2010/02/20: TreeHugger: Oxfam: Tajikistan on the Brink from Climate Change
227. 2010/02/19: EarthTimes: Arctic dust from melting glaciers could affect climate, health
228. 2010/02/20: Eureka: Global warming may hurt some poor populations, benefit others
229. 2010/02/19: NewScientist: Warmer seas may rob corals and rainforests of clouds
230. 2010/02/19: SciDaily: Arctic Glacial Dust May Affect Climate and Health in North America and Europe
231. 2010/02/19: Eureka: Dust from distant lands may affect climate and health in the Americas and Europe -- University of Miami Professor Joe Prospero to share findings at AAAS
232. 2010/02/18: Eureka: Warmer planet temperatures could cause longer-lasting weather patterns
233. 2010/02/18: UYork: Understanding the threat to monkey numbers from forest decline
234. 2010/02/17: Guardian(UK): Tajikistan facing water shortages and climate extremes, report warns
235. 2010/02/17: Guardian(UK): Cold weather hits wildlife across the UK

     And then there are the world's forests:

236. 2010/02/21: LA Times: Saving the Amazon may be the most cost-effective way to cut greenhouse gas emissions
     If the U.S. adopts a cap-and-trade program, companies facing carbon controls could meet part of their obligations by preserving Earth's largest tropical forest.
237. 2010/02/20: WaPo: Climate change's impact on forests being measured via expanding tree trunks
238. 2010/02/18: Eureka: A second hydrocarbon boom threatens the Peruvian Amazon
     The amount of area leased to oil and gas companies is on track to reach around 70 percent of the region
239. 2010/02/17: NatureTGB: California redwoods dread sunny, fogless summers
240. 2010/02/17: NewScientist: Receding fog may leave redwoods in the lurch
241. 2010/02/16: KSJT: SF Chronicle, NY Times, USA Today: Less fog may mean fewer redwood trees
242. 2010/02/15: BBC: Scientists in California say a drop in coastal fog could threaten the state's famed giant redwood trees
243. 2010/02/16: BBC: Big business leaves big forest footprints
     Consumers around the globe are not aware that they are "eating" rainforests, says Andrew Mitchell. In this week's Green Room, he explains how many every-day purchases are driving the destruction of the vital tropical ecosystems.
244. 2010/02/16: CanWest: Fewer days of fog could spell disaster for redwood forests
     Coastal fog along the shores of northern California is thinning out, robbing the mighty Sequoias of needed moisture
245. 2010/02/15: MongaBay: Decline in fog threatens California's iconic redwood ecosystems
246. 2010/02/15: PlanetArk: Despite Rain, California Still Fighting Over Water

     Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

247. 2010/02/18: STimes: Weird weather supports claims of climate change [Friedman]
248. 2010/02/17: ClimateP: Is "Global Weirding" here?
     Humans are warming the globe and changing the climate. But what should we call it?
249. 2010/02/17: CBC: Warm weather cancels Labrador race
     An annual snowmobile race across the back country of Labrador -- billed by organizers as Canada's longest endurance race -- won't happen this year because of warm temperatures. Todd Kent, the co-chair of Cain's Quest, told CBC News that a lack of snow, open rivers and lakes and continuous above-zero temperatures make it too dangerous to hold the event.
250. 2010/02/15: SolveClimate: Experts Try to Clear Confusion about Extreme Weather and Climate Change -- Some Say Blizzards Consistent With a Warming Planet

     As for heatwaves and wild fires:

251. 2010/02/16: ABC(Au): Call for bushfire regions to get fire policy say
     The Victorian Lands Alliance wants people living in bushfire-prone areas to have more of a voice on fire management policies.
252. 2010/02/15: NewScientist: Weather model shows where California will burn

     Corals are dying:

253. 2010/02/21: Guardian(UK): Acidified landscape around ocean vents foretells grim future for coral reefs
254. 2010/02/19: ClimateShifts: More on ESA listing for corals
255. 2010/02/18: ClimateShifts: Diversity of Corals, Algae in Warm Indian Ocean Suggests Resilience to Future Global Warming
256. 2010/02/19: Times(UK): Twin threats to fragile undersea colonies of Britain [deep-sea trawling and acidification]
257. 2010/02/17: PhysOrg: Study: Coral loss slowed, reversed by marine protected areas (w/ Video)
     A new worldwide study shows marine protected areas (MPAs), underwater parks where fishing and other potentially harmful activities are regulated, provide an added bonus - helping coral reef ecosystems ward off and recover from threats to their health.
258. 2010/02/14: PSU: Diversity of Corals, Algae in Warm Indian Ocean Suggests Resilience to Future Global Warming
259. 2010/02/15: PhysOrg: Diversity of Corals, Algae in Warm Indian Ocean Suggests Resilience to Future Global Warming
260. 2010/02/15: ClimateShifts: New AIMS report on climate change and the tropical marine environment
261. 2010/02/14: ClimateShifts: Barrier Reef still vulnerable says Australian Institute of Marine Science [AIMS] CEO Ian Poiner

     Acidification is changing the oceans:

262. 2010/02/18: ClimateP: Nature Geoscience study: Oceans are acidifying 10 times faster today than 55 million years ago when a mass extinction of marine species occurred
263. 2010/02/17: CCP: Rate of ocean acidification on track for extinction of most marine species, much like 65 million years ago
264. 2010/02/16: TreeHugger: Oceans Acidifying 10x Faster Than During Last Massive Marine Extinction
265. 2010/02/15: Independent(UK): Oceans' acidity rate is soaring, claims study
266. 2010/02/15: PhysOrg: Rate of ocean acidification the fastest in 65 million years

     Glaciers are melting:

267. 2010/02/17: Hindu: No doubt, Himalayan glaciers are melting fast: Pachauri
268. 2010/02/14: NewScientist: Greenland's glaciers disappearing from the bottom up

     Sea levels are rising:

269. 2010/02/17: RA: Sea Level Rise - Part 2
270. 2010/02/16: ClimateShifts: New study indicates sea level can rise 1 m in 50 years

     As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

271. 2010/02/20: EarthTimes: At least 25 dead after storms on Madeira
272. 2010/02/21: BBC: Aid rushed to flood-hit Madeira
     The Portuguese military has sent specialist rescue teams to the island of Madeira, where at least 38 people are known to have died in rainstorms.
273. 2010/02/21: Guardian(UK): Madeira floods kill scores as storm sweeps tourist island -- Heavy rain and high winds bring down trees and trigger massive mudslides
274. 2010/02/20: CBC: Madeira floods, mudslides kill 32
275. 2010/02/20: BBC: Twenty-five people have been killed in floods and mudslides after torrential rains hit the Portuguese island of Madeira, a government minister says
276. 2010/02/18: PlanetArk: Yemen's Water Crisis Eclipses Al Qaeda Threat
277. 2010/02/17: TerraDaily: Thousands evacuated in Italy after landslides: report
     Mudslides caused by torrential rains in southern Italy sparked the evacuation of thousands of villagers in Calabria on Wednesday, officials said as they launched an emergency rescue.
278. 2010/02/16: Purdue: Projection shows water woes likely based on warmer temperatures
279. 2010/02/17: CBC: Spain hit by heavy rain
280. 2010/02/15: Eureka: Risk of drought in Northeastern Spain is exaggerated by the press
     Researchers from the University of Barcelona (UB) have, for the first time, analysed all the articles published in the La Vanguardia newspaper between 1982 and 2007 linked to natural hazards, climate change and sustainable development. Over 25 years the press devoted more headlines to forest fires and droughts, even though floods are much more frequent and cause more damage.
281. 2010/02/16: TCoE: Measuring water use
282. 2010/02/15: EarthTimes: Torrential rain and floods hit northern Greece and Bulgaria
283. 2010/02/15: EarthTimes: Rain, floods in Bulgaria cause power outages, snarl traffic

     Consider transportation & GHG production:

284. 2010/02/19: CalcRisk: DOT: Vehicle Miles Driven unchanged in December
285. 2010/02/09: HuffPo: In The Public Interest: What's Next for High-Speed Rail? [USPIRG report]
286. 2010/02/16: NYT: Slow Trip Across Sea Aids Profit and Environment
     [...] By halving its top cruising speed over the last two years, Maersk cut fuel consumption on major routes by as much as 30 percent, greatly reducing costs. But the company also achieved an equal cut in the ships' emissions of greenhouse gases.
287. 2010/02/16: Grist: Transportation today and tomorrow -- Two books that blew my mind
288. 2010/02/17: TreeHugger: Danish Cargo Ship Fleet Cuts Fuel Use 30% By Going Half Speed

     While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:

289. 2010/02/18: TreeHugger: A PassivHaus Renovation: Heritage Meets Energy Efficiency

     As for carbon sequestration:

290. 2010/02/18: Yale360: CO2 Capture and Storage Gains a Growing Foothold
     The drive to extract and store CO2 from coal-fired power plants is gaining momentum, with the Obama administration backing the technology and the world's first capture and sequestration project now operating in the U.S. Two questions loom: Will carbon capture and storage be affordable? And will it be safe?
291. 2010/02/19: SolveClimate: CCS: A Piece of the Puzzle
292. 2010/02/18: NatureCF: Gut reactions to carbon storage
293. 2010/02/15: Reuters: Aramco to inject CO2 into [Ghawar] biggest oilfield by 2012
294. 2010/02/15: D-HW: Getting a sinking feeling yet? Phytoplankton and carbon sequestration
295. 2010/02/15: TreeHugger: New C02-Capturing Crystals Mimic DNA, are 400% More Effective

     Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

296. 2010/02/20: SciNow: Smattering of Activists Protest Geoengineering, 'Chemtrails'
297. 2010/02/20: SciNow: The Latest on Hacking the Planet
298. 2010/02/19: CCP: Surabi Menon et al., Environ. Res. Lett., 5 (2010), Radiative forcing and temperature response to changes in urban albedos and associated CO2 offsets
299. 2010/02/19: CCP: More Reflective Roofs and Pavements Could Help Offset Climate Emissions
300. 2010/02/19: Eureka: Geoengineering takes a ride in the shipping lanes -- Computer models show how skyborne seawater particles change cloud brightness, temperature, rain patterns
301. 2010/02/18: TreeHugger: Geoengineering Scheme Using Floating Ocean Pipes Won't Store Much Carbon, Could Release Even More
302. 2010/02/18: Eureka: Ocean geoengineering scheme no easy fix for global warming
303. 2010/02/17: NatureTGB: Enter cheat code: G-E-O-E-N-G-I-N-E-E-R-I-N-G

     Meanwhile in the journals:

304. 2010/02/18: AGWObserver: Papers on CO2-temperature correlation
305. 2010/02/15: AGWObserver: Revisiting Svensmark & Friis-Christensen (1997)
306. 2010/02/19: ACP: Saharan dust infrared optical depth and altitude retrieved from AIRS: a focus over North Atlantic -- comparison to MODIS and CALIPSO by S. Peyridieu et al.
307. 2010/02/19: ACP: Estimations of climate sensitivity based on top-of-atmosphere radiation imbalance by B. Lin et al.
308. 2010/02/19: ACPD: Remote sensing of the tropical rain forest boundary layer using pulsed Doppler lidar by G. Pearson et al.
309. 2010/02/19: ACPD: Historical (1850-2000) gridded anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions of reactive gases and aerosols: methodology and application by J.-F. Lamarque et al.
310. 2010/02/17: CP: Potential analysis reveals changing number of climate states during the last 60 kyr by V. N. Livina et al.
311. 2010/02/19: CP: Limitations of red noise in analysing Dansgaard-Oeschger events by H. Braun et al.
312. 2010/02/18: ACP: Atmospheric data over a solar cycle: no connection between galactic cosmic rays and new particle formation by M. Kulmala et al.
313. 2010/02/16: ACP: Impact of energetic particle precipitation on stratospheric polar constituents: an assessment using monitoring and assimilation of operational MIPAS data by A. Robichaud et al.
314. 2010/02/15: ACP: A review of natural aerosol interactions and feedbacks within the Earth system by K. S. Carslaw et al.
315. 2010/02/15: ACP: Recent increase in aerosol loading over the Australian arid zone by R. M. Mitchell et al.
316. 2010/02/15: ACP: Results from the CERN pilot CLOUD experiment by J. Duplissy et multi al.
317. 2010/02/15: ACP: Atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide observations from two European coastal stations 2000-2005: continental influence, trend changes and APO climatology by C. Sirignano et al.
318. 2010/02/15: ACP: 27-day variation in cloud amount in the Western Pacific warm pool region and relationship to the solar cycle by Y. Takahashi et al.
319. 2010/02/18: ACPD: Impact of deep convection in the tropical tropopause layer in West Africa: in-situ observations and mesoscale modelling by F. Fierli et al.
320. 2010/02/18: ACPD: How can aerosols affect the Asian summer monsoon? Assessment during three consecutive pre-monsoon seasons from CALIPSO satellite data by J. Kuhlmann & J. Quaas
321. 2010/02/17: ACPD: Atmospheric Brown Clouds in the Himalayas: first two years of continuous observations at the Nepal-Climate Observatory at Pyramid (5079 m) by P. Bonasoni et al.
322. 2010/02/15: ACPD: Energetic particle precipitation in ECHAM5/MESSy - Part 2: Solar Proton Events by A. J. G. Baumgaertner et al.
323. 2010/02/17: GRL: (ab$) Heat wave changes in the eastern Mediterranean since 1960 by F. G. Kuglitsch et al.
324. 2010/02/14: NatureGeoSci: (ab$) Rapid submarine melting of the calving faces of West Greenland glaciers by Eric Rignot et al.

     And other significant documents:

325. 2010/02/17: USGS: [link to 180 meg pdf] Hydrological, Geological, and Biological Site Characterization of Breccia Pipe Uranium Deposits in Northern Arizona -- edited by Andrea E. Alpine
326. 2010/02/09: USPIRG: [link to 2.6 meg pdf] The Right Track: Building a 21st Century High-Speed Rail System for America

     As for miscellaneous science:

327. 2010/02/10: JGCumming: The Rank Amateur
328. 2010/02/15: CCP: F. Straneo et al., Nature Geosci., Rapid circulation of warm subtropical waters in a major glacial fjord in East Greenland
329. 2010/02/15: CCP: Y. Asmerom et al., Nature Geosci., Variable winter moisture in the southwestern United States linked to rapid glacial climate shifts
330. 2010/02/15: CCP: J. Alvarez-Solas et al., Nature Geosci., Links between ocean temperature and iceberg discharge during Heinrich events
331. 2010/02/15: CCP: Rate of ocean acidification the fastest in 65 million years, A. Ridgwell & D. Schmidt, Nature Geoscience
332. 2010/02/15: CCP: Andy Ridgwell & Daniela N. Schmidt, Nature Geosci., Past constraints on the vulnerability of marine calcifiers to massive carbon dioxide release
333. 2010/02/15: CCP: Greenland's glaciers disappearing from the bottom up: As much as 75% of the ice lost by glaciers is melted by ocean warmth

     Alas, the Pielke fab clubbe:

334. 2010/02/20: MTobis: Consistency
335. 2010/02/19: TWTB: On "constructive debate"
336. 2010/02/15: BCLSB: Pielke Jr. Vs. Muir-Wood

     Meanwhile on the Kyoto front:

337. 2010/02/19: PlanetArk: Kyoto Risks Dying, No New Climate Deal In Sight
338. 2010/02/19: PlanetArk: Factbox: What Next For The Kyoto Protocol?
339. 2010/02/18: Reuters: Analysis-Kyoto risks dying, no new climate deal in sight
     * Kyoto Protocol may lack support after first period to 2012
     * No successor in sight; U.S. emissions cap unclear
     * Rich and poor nations at odds over pact's future
     Efforts to extend the Kyoto climate pact framework risk collapse in a setback to years of diplomatic bargains, as chances fade that the United States will join other rich nations in capping emissions. December's U.N. climate conference in Denmark failed to cite the U.N.-brokered Kyoto pact as a touchstone -- sapping hopes for a global carbon price to guide billions of dollars in investments from nuclear plants to solar panels. "We are probably seeing the beginning of the end for the Kyoto Protocol in its current form," said Johan Rockstrom, head of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University. "But it's also very clear that we are still in a situation where there is no alternative. So we are in a fix." Plans to extend the Kyoto Protocol, the world's main pact for fighting climate change, beyond 2012 hinge on bridging a divide between rich and poor countries over the cost of switching from carbon-intensive technologies.

While at the UN:

340. 2010/02/19: UN: UN launches project to help poorer countries curb greenhouse emissions [by developing a technology roadmap for CCS across different industry sectors]
341. 2010/02/18: BBerg: UN Emission Board Seeks to Mend Split on Clean Energy
     Regulators who oversee the world's second-biggest emissions market are split on whether to disqualify renewable-energy projects that receive subsidies from developing nations such as China, the board's chairman said. The executive board of the Clean Development Mechanism will seek to overcome the divide among its members and ease the approval of projects such as Chinese wind farms and hydro plants, Clifford Mahlung, the board's new chairman, said yesterday in an interview. A resolution could come as early as the board's next meeting starting March 22, he said. The board's certification allows projects to gain tradable emission credits known as offsets under the United Nations program. Its rejection of 10 Chinese wind farms in December raised concern that stricter oversight of clean-energy projects is undermining the program conceived under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to encourage investors from richer nations to bankroll emission-reduction projects in developing nations
342. 2010/02/15: Reuters: UN panel approves 32 China wind farms, blocks six

     And on the carbon trading front:

343. 2010/02/18: EurActiv: EU approves revised ETS rules to combat cyber crime
     Representatives of member states yesterday (17 February) approved a revision of the registries that audit emissions permits under the bloc's trading system to enhance Internet security. The new rules were originally proposed by the European Commission to prepare for the aviation sector's entry into the EU's emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) from 2012. But they also include measures to combat fraud in the aftermath of recent cyber attacks on national registries. The emissions trading scheme is the EU's main tool for cutting carbon emissions by capping the amount companies are allowed to emit. Companies exceeding their quota have to buy electronic emission permits from others that have improved their environmental performance. Last month, Internet fraudsters sent fake emails to companies that use the registries, directing them to a rogue website where they were asked to enter their identification code and password. They then used the codes to obtain emission allowances and sold them on.
344. 2010/02/17: BBerg: Spain Approves Carbon Offset Projects in China, India, Peru
345. 2010/02/15: BizGreen: Economists hail EU emissions trading success
     Study challenges conventional view that the ETS has failed, hailing the scheme's profound impact on the European energy sector

The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

346. 2010/02/20: TEC: France Pushes for Carbon Tax by July 2010
347. 2010/02/17: BizGreen: South Korea mulls carbon tax -- Official reveals government review is under way to assess the feasibility of a levy on carbon
348. 2010/02/16: AlterNet: Why Oil Companies May Be Our Best Hope for Climate Change Legislation in Congress

     The Tobin tax won't go away:

349. 2010/02/19: CanWest: Canada confirms opposition to global bank tax
     The Canadian government confirmed Friday it will officially oppose international efforts to get the world's major economies to impose a global bank tax. This could potentially ignite a major divide among Group of 20 leaders at their summit meeting in Toronto this summer, and further thwart efforts to implement uniform financial regulations in the post-recession era.
350. 2010/02/12: AlterNet: Time to [Tobin] Tax the Financial Speculators

     As for GW & security:

351. 2010/02/15: ClimateP: Quadrennial Defense Review Should Spark Interagency Climate Conversation

     The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world as nations scramble to deal with climate change:

352. 2010/02/17: GreenIsTheNewRed: Washington "Eco-terrorist" Bill Includes Civil Disobedience and First Amendment Activity
353. 2010/02/17: TreeHugger: Washington State Eco-Terrorist Bill Could Make Writing For TreeHugger a Criminal Act

     Among the world's religions:

354. 2010/02/19: Guardian(UK): Get behind Robin Hood [Tobin tax]
     The Robin Hood tax is not punitive but restorative -- and churches should be vocal in their support
355. 2010/02/15: Ekklesia: Environmentalists launch low-carbon 'churches in transition'

     Polls! We have polls!

356. 2010/02/16: SciDaily: Americans Favor Conservation, but Few Practice It
     Most Americans like the idea of conservation, but few practice it in their everyday lives, according to the results of a national survey released February 16 by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities.

Farming practices and global warming:

357. 2010/02/18: Grist: To reduce nitrogen pollution, we need new farm policies

     A bunch of Canadian Premiers went to DC to meet with Governors and the Obama administration:

358. 2010/02/20: CBC: Energy, environment hot topics as premiers meet governors
359. 2010/02/20: ChronicleHerald: Premiers hold talks with EPA boss -- Next stop is national governors meeting
     Seven Canadian premiers arrived in the U.S. capital on Friday to sit down for discussions with two key White House power brokers in advance of their attendance at an influential conference of American governors. The leaders of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were slated to meet with President Barack Obama's economic czar, Larry Summers, and Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
360. 2010/02/19: NRDC:SwitchBoard: Climate Game Has Changed As Premiers Meet with Governors

     Speaking of resource wars:

361. 2010/02/19: BBC: Holding firm over the Falklands
362. 2010/02/18: BBC: Falkland Islands: Oil or no oil? Anticipation of a big oil find off the coast of the Falkland Islands is once again reaching fever pitch

     And on the American political front:

363. 2010/02/19: TP:WR: At CPAC, Morano Mocks McCain For 'Running Scared' From Global Warming 'Hoax'
364. 2010/02/17: LATimes: Washington stalemate blocks job-creating investment in green energy
365. 2010/02/17: Grist: Why Congress must revise the Clean Air Act

     California climate laws are being challenged:

366. 2010/02/18: PRWatch: The "AB 32 Implementation Group": A Wolf in Green Clothing
367. 2010/02/18: SolveClimate: California's Landmark Greenhouse Gas Law Comes Under Attack
     'There's One Agenda Here: To Kill Our Attempt to Have a Clean Energy Economy'
368. 2010/02/15: CanWest: Schwarzenegger's climate change legacy may be in trouble -- Governor's fading light is dimming prospects for action against major polluters in California
369. 2010/02/14: Guardian(UK): Oil groups mount legal challenge to Schwarzenegger's tar sands ban
     Californian legislation branded 'unconstitutional' - Lobby group includes UK energy companies
     A lobby group that includes BP and Shell in its membership has launched a legal challenge against low-carbon legislation in California that in effect rules out the use of oil from Canadian tar sands. The action by the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) comes amid growing political, investor and consumer pressure on US oil companies not to participate in the carbon-intensive tar sands of Alberta.

The Republican/Carbon Lobby campaign to kill EPA CO2 endangerment regulations saw an uptick with the looming deadline:

370. 2010/02/19: DeseretNews: Utah Legislature: State Senate committee urges EPA to cease regulating greenhouse gases
371. 2010/02/20: NRDC:SwitchBoard: Going Rogue on Endangerment
372. 2010/02/19: NYT:GW: Barbour Lobbies Fellow Governors to Oppose EPA Regulations
373. 2010/02/17: PRWatch: Oil-Funded Gov Joins with Oil-Funded Front Group to Appeal Greenhouse Gas Regs
374. 2010/02/18: TP:WR: Refuting Cuccinelli Denier Petition, Virginia Climate Scientists See 'Great Risk' From Greenhouse Gases
375. 2010/02/17: NYT:GW: 16 'Endangerment' Lawsuits Filed Against EPA Before Deadline
376. 2010/02/17: TP: Texas State Climatologist disputes his own state's climate-denier petition
377. 2010/02/17: TP:WR: Texas State Climatologist Disputes State's Denier Petition: Greenhouse Gases 'Clearly Present A Danger To The Public Welfare'
378. 2010/02/17: TreeHugger: Texas Takes Aim at EPA Regulating CO2 as Pollutant - Files Petition in Court of Appeals
379. 2010/02/16: GreenMiles: Virginia Becoming a New National Leader in War on Science
380. 2010/02/17: Houston Chronicle: Texas challenges EPA's global warming findings
381. 2010/02/17: WaPo: Virginia challenges U.S. greenhouse gas curbs
382. 2010/02/16: Reuters: Texas to challenge US greenhouse gas rules -- Texas suit one of several to challenge EPA
     Texas and several national industry groups on Tuesday filed separate petitions in federal court challenging the government's authority to regulate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Texas, which leads U.S. states in carbon dioxide emissions due to its heavy concentration of oil refining and other industries, will see a major impact if U.S. mandatory emissions reductions take effect. In December, the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide endanger human health, opening the door for the agency to issue mandatory regulations to reduce them. Texas said it had filed a petition for review challenging the EPA's "endangerment finding" with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Texas has also asked the EPA to reconsider its ruling. "The EPA's misguided plan paints a big target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers and the hundreds of thousands of Texans they employ," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said.
383. 2010/02/16: TreeHugger: US Chamber of Commerce to Fight EPA on Clean Air Act CO2 Regulation
384. 2010/02/16: TEC: 39 Senators Fighting to Stop EPA's Greenhouse Gas Regulations

     Some fossil fuellers dropped out of US-CAP:

385. 2010/02/16: SolveClimate: Oil Giants BP, ConocoPhillips Drop Out of US Climate Action Partnership
386. 2010/02/16: Guardian(UK): Big firms drop support for US climate bill -- BP America, Caterpillar and Conoco end support [for USCAP]
387. 2010/02/17: WaPo: ConocoPhillips, BP and Caterpillar quit USCAP

     The Obama chatter is nonstop:

388. 2010/02/20: Telegraph(UK): Barack Obama's climate change policy in crisis
389. 2010/02/19: TP: Obama explains climate science to global warming deniers
390. 2010/02/19: Grist: Obama rebukes climate skeptics
391. 2010/02/17: NYT: Environmental Advocates Are Cooling on Obama
392. 2010/02/17: SolveClimate: Putting the President's Power Tools to Use -- 100+ Statutory Delegations of Authority to Address Energy and Climate

     The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

393. 2010/02/20: BSD: Nuclear power is a bargaining chip. You don't just give away your bargaining chip
394. 2010/02/19: NYT:GW: New White House Guidance 'Straightforward, Common Sense' -- CEQ [Council on Environmental Quality] Chief
395. 2010/02/20: TP:WR: Full Disclosure: White House Addresses Climate Change With The National Environmental Policy Act
396. 2010/02/18: ClimateP: Nobelist Chu on IPCC and emails, "this is a little wart on the overall amount of information"; questions "asymmetric" standard skeptics are held to.
397. 2010/02/17: FTimes: US energy chief struggles to shift debate

     The Obama administration has put up US$8 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear power stations:

398. 2010/02/18: DemNow: "A Bad Day for America": Anti-Nuclear Activist Harvey Wasserman Criticizes Obama Plan to Fund Nuclear Reactors
399. 2010/02/17: NYT: DOE Delivers Its First, Long-Awaited Nuclear Loan Guarantee
400. 2010/02/17: KSJT: Lots of Ink: Big government loan guarantee for new US nukes. Is this how that nuclear renaissance finally reaches critical mass?
401. 2010/02/17: LA Times: Obama pledges $8 billion for new nuclear reactors
402. 2010/02/17: CCurrents: Obama's Nuclear Option
403. 2010/02/17: CCurrents: Obama's Atomic Blunder
404. 2010/02/17: ABC(Au): The Obama administration has issued loan guarantees to pave the way for the first new nuclear power plant to be built in the United States for almost 30 years
405. 2010/02/16: Guardian(UK): Barack Obama gives green light to new wave of nuclear reactors
     US president announces $8.3bn in loan guarantees for construction of first nuclear reactors in almost 30 years
406. 2010/02/16: Guardian(UK): Obama's risky nuclear renaissance
     Barack Obama's promise to fund new nuclear power plants is a major financial gamble -- and US taxpayers will foot the bill
407. 2010/02/16: TreeHugger: Obama Announces Plans for First Nuclear Power Plant in 3 Decades
408. 2010/02/16: EarthTimes: Nuclear push: Obama gives 8-billion-dollar loan guarantee
409. 2010/02/16: Yahoo:Reuters: Obama to announce loan help for nuclear power -- an $8.3 billion loan guarantee
410. 2010/02/16: BBC: US to build nuclear power plants
     President Barack Obama has announced more than $8bn (£5bn) of federal loan guarantees to help build the first US nuclear power stations for 30 years. Two new plants are to be constructed in the state of Georgia by US electricity firm Southern Company. President Obama said the plants would be "safe and clean" and were needed to meet the country's future energy needs. There have been no new nuclear power plants built in the US since the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island.

As for what is going on in Congress:

411. 2010/02/17: TP: McCain Falsely Claims He Has 'Never Favored' Capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions
412. 2010/02/16: RawStory: GOP lawmaker accused of plagiarizing Washington Times' anti-climate change rant
413. 2010/02/16: PlanetArk: New Effort To Revive U.S. Biodiesel Credit
     Senate leaders have dropped from a jobs creation bill a U.S. tax credit for biodiesel, creating uncertainty for biodiesel makers, who say they need the incentive to keep running. A $1-a-gallon tax credit, which expired at the end of 2009, was in the first draft of the bill. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pared back the bill on Thursday, dropping the biodiesel tax credit, among other tax measures.
414. 2010/02/16: NRDC:SwitchBoard: Proposed ESA Rollbacks -- A Fork in the Road [Feinstein]

     Kerry-Boxer, Waxman-Markey or whatever -- the future climate bill -- defines a battleline:

415. 2010/02/16: NYT:GW: Senate Moderates Keeping Distance From Climate Bill

     What are the lobbyists pushing?

416. 2009/07/01: CPI: Southern Company Dominates the Climate Lobbying Scene
     Southern Company, the nation's largest electric power generator, also had the largest force of lobbyists among the hundreds of businesses and interest groups that were seeking to influence the landmark climate change legislation that just passed the House.
417. 2010/02/17: STimes: Southern Co.'s lobbying draws complaints
     President Barack Obama's award of billions of dollars in federal nuclear loan guarantees to Southern Co. has angered environmentalists who say the president is embracing the energy powerhouse that worked aggressively to defeat a key climate change bill championed by his administration.

While in the UK:

418. 2010/02/21: Guardian(UK): Let the Met Office shine on
419. 2010/02/16: PlanetArk: British Airway's Biofuel Awaiting UK Approval: Report
420. 2010/02/15: BBC: Boiler scheme benefits thousands
     Some 44% of vouchers offering money off the cost of a new boiler have been claimed under the government's scrappage scheme for England. Some 54,758 vouchers that take £400 off the cost of replacing an old boiler with a new efficient one have been claimed, with 70,000 still available.

And in Europe:

421. 2010/02/18: EnvFin: Europe on course to meet 2020 renewables [20%] targets - EWEA
422. 2010/02/18: TerraDaily: EU chief urges 'rethink' on climate dealings with China, US
     The head of the European Commission warned on Thursday that European leaders must "rethink" their approach to climate change negotiations with major partners such as China and the United Sates. In a letter to the 27 European Union leaders, Jose Manuel Barroso said a UN summit in Copenhagen in December at which bloc negotiations were outmaneouvred "showed us just how tough it will be" to convince the world to adopt similar policies.
423. 2010/02/18: Reuters: Most oil majors hunting for shale gas in Europe -- Researcher says at least 40 firms in European shale hunt
424. 2010/02/18: PlanetArk: Norway Outlines Ways To Reach Deep [30%] 2020 CO2 Cuts [from 1990 levels]
425. 2010/02/18: EarthTimes: Brussels to propose EU rules for nuclear waste disposal
426. 2010/02/17: TreeHugger: Norway Reveals Stunning Plan to Cut CO2 Emissions 30% in 10 Years
427. 2010/02/15: SolveClimate: EU Fuel Rules Could Exacerbate the Palm Oil Problem
428. 2010/02/15: EurActiv: Controversy mounts over EU biofuels fall-out
     Fresh controversy is mounting within the European Union over biofuels and their unintended impact on tropical forests and wetlands, documents show.
429. 2010/02/15: EurActiv: EU biofuels target could starve millions of people
     Millions of people could starve if member states deliver on the EU's target of sourcing 10% of its transport fuel from biofuels as a way of tackling climate change, argues a new report from ActionAid, an NGO. "The huge expansion in industrial biofuels use must be stopped," said ActionAid's biofuels expert Tim Rice, calling for EU governments to refrain from increasing their use further while drafting national action plans for renewable energy for the next 10 years. Currently made from maize, wheat, sugar cane and oil seeds such as palm oil, soy and rapeseed, industrial biofuels compete with crops grown for food, "driving food prices higher and affecting what and how much people eat in developing countries," notes the ActionAid report on the impact of industrial biofuels on global hunger. "For every 1% rise in the price of food, 16 million more poor people are made hungry," it estimates.

Meanwhile in Australia:

430. 2010/02/18: TheAge: [transcript] Penny Wong: Climate sceptics are all red herrings and quackery
431. 2010/02/20: Australian: Stop developers from influencing planning, says [Tim] Flannery
432. 2010/02/19: ABC(Au): The Eurobodalla Shire Council in the New South Wales South East says it has to act now to solve the problem of rising sea levels
433. 2010/02/19: ABC(Au): The Wellington Shire says it is not responsible for preventing construction in areas rising sea levels could affect
434. 2010/02/18: ABC(Au): Wong to hear push for stronger emissions targets
     The Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, will be urged to set tougher carbon reduction targets when Community Cabinet comes to Ballarat today. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his Cabinet, will hold a public forum in Ballarat this afternoon followed by one-on-one meetings between ministers and community members who registered their interest.
435. 2010/02/18: ABC(Au): SA gets 11th wind farm
     South Australia's 11th wind farm will power 30,000 homes in the mid-north of the state. The Clements Gap wind farm, south of Port Pirie, has 27 turbines. It is estimated it will prevent 200,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.
436. 2010/02/18: Australian: Rudd backs review of solar panel rules over electrical fire fears
437. 2010/02/18: GWWatch: Garnaut's post-Copenhagen waiting game - Plan B
438. 2010/02/18: ABC(Au): Abbott's 'Soviet' climate plan delusional: Garnaut
     Former Federal Government climate change adviser Professor Ross Garnaut has likened the Opposition's climate change policy to Soviet era decisions.
439. 2010/02/17: ABC(Au): Power station uncertainty worries MP
     The federal Nationals' Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, says he is worried by claims the Hazelwood power station could close in six years if the Government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) is introduced. The executive director of International Power Australia, Tony Concannon, has said the company may close the power station by 2016 if the CPRS is passed in Parliament.
440. 2010/02/17: ABC(Au): More rain across central Queensland has been a welcome boost to dam levels across the region
441. 2010/02/18: ABC(Au): Garrett under fire over dodgy solar installations
     As Environment Minister Peter Garrett grapples to control his home insulation program, there are now concerns about the potential for house fires because of badly-installed solar panels.
442. 2010/02/17: BBerg: Rudd Rules Out Introducing Nuclear Power in Australia
443. 2010/02/16: ABC(Au): The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says average CO2 emissions fell almost 2 per cent last year to 218 grams per kilometre
444. 2010/02/16: Reuters: Support for Australia's Rudd at three-year low: poll
445. 2010/02/15: ABC(Au): Carbon trading push for Indigenous communities
     A prominent central Australian Aboriginal man says the law needs to be changed so more Aboriginal people can get involved in carbon trading.
446. 2010/02/15: TheAge: Zero emissions possible - at $40bn a year
     Australia could move to 100 per cent renewable energy within a decade if it spent heavily on cutting-edge solar thermal and wind technology, according to an analysis released as part of a community bid to redirect the flailing climate policy debate. The shift would require the annual investment of up to $40 billion - roughly 3.5 per cent of national GDP - with the largest chunk going towards solar thermal power plants that used molten-salt heat storage to allow power generation to continue without sunlight.
447. 2010/02/15: PeakEnergy: Zero emissions possible for Australia - at $40bn a year

     And in China:

448. 2010/02/18: EnvFin: Foreign developers shut out of China's offshore wind boom
449. 2010/02/15: TerraDaily: China warns of more snow during holiday period

     While elsewhere in Asia:

450. 2010/02/16: TMI: Indonesia may open more forests to palm oil

     And South America:

451. 2010/02/18: CaribbeanNN: Region advances in evnvironmental goals, [but] deforestation and CO2 emissions keep rising

     In Canada, minority neocon PM Harper, continues his do-nothing policy:

452. 2010/02/19: CanWest: Canada confirms opposition to global bank tax
     The Canadian government confirmed Friday it will officially oppose international efforts to get the world's major economies to impose a global bank tax. This could potentially ignite a major divide among Group of 20 leaders at their summit meeting in Toronto this summer, and further thwart efforts to implement uniform financial regulations in the post-recession era.

The Conservative scheduled a conference for some Arctic parties. Objections ensued:

453. 2010/02/17: CBC: Cannon defends Arctic summit's guest list
     Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon is defending his decision to bring five of eight northern nations together at an Arctic sovereignty meeting next month.
454. 2010/02/17: EmbassyMag: Canada called out by Arctic allies -- Iceland, Finland and Sweden frustrated at non-invitations to Arctic summit
455. 2010/02/15: CanWest: Arctic native leaders say they've been left out of summit
456. 2010/02/16: CBC: Iceland upset by Arctic summit snub
     Iceland has joined Arctic indigenous leaders in expressing displeasure over Canada's decision to host a March meeting on Arctic sovereignty in Quebec without input from participants of the multinational Arctic Council. Canada's federal Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon recently announced that he will host a meeting of foreign ministers from the Arctic Ocean coastal countries of Norway, Russia, Denmark (which includes Greenland) and the United States on March 29 in Chelsea, Que. The leaders will discuss ways to pursue responsible economic development in the North in advance of the G8 foreign ministers' meeting in Gatineau, Que.

The Conservative anti-abortion, anti-sex-education ideology showed its face this week:

457. 2010/02/18: G&M: Abortion not part of maternal-health initiative, development minister says
     The federal government won't add contraception and abortion to a package of initiatives aimed at improving women and children's health despite pleas from the Opposition to include the practices. International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said Thursday that Ottawa isn't changing its policy...
458. 2010/02/19: SWRWN: No Family Planning, No Contraception, No Abortion = Maternal Health, Public Version

     BC is wrangling over energy when it's not watching the 5 ring circus:

459. 2010/02/15: CBC: Doctors oppose Kamloops gasification plant
     One hundred B.C. Interior doctors have joined the fight against a plan to turn old railway ties into so-called clean energy at a plant in Kamloops. The Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation (ACC) says the proposed plant would first chop the creosote-soaked railway ties into small pieces and then use a combination of heat and steam -- a process called gasification -- to extract a synthetic gas. That gas, which is similar to propane or natural gas, would then be burned in two one-megawatt generators to produce electricity, which the company would then sell to BC Hydro.
460. 2010/02/16: CanWest: Victoria unveils three clean-energy deals -- Government hopes to make B.C. a hub for business and investment in this expanding sector
     The provincial government opened a bundle of clean energy announcements on Monday in a bid to brand British Columbia as a global hub for green business investment and research. Premier Gordon Campbell and Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom introduced three deals, all involving British Columbia companies and international partners, and gave their strongest indication yet that the Clean Energy Act announced in last week's throne speech will fundamentally change the energy development landscape.
461. 2010/02/15: Wunderground: Winter Olympics forecast: near-record warmth

     Ontario has it's Green Energy Act, now comes the implementation:

462. 2010/02/16: Reuters: Ontario to shut Pickering B nuclear plant in 2020
463. 2010/02/16: CBC: Ontario wants Ottawa to fund green programs

     Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

464. 2010/02/19: TEC: Canada and Oil Sands contest future energy markets
465. 2010/02/18: NRDC:SwitchBoard: Uncommon Ground over Tar Sands and Climate
466. 2010/02/17: NRDC:SwitchBoard: What tar sands oil means in America's heartland
467. 2010/02/14: Reuters: BP in talks over $1.2 billion Canadian oil sands deal: report
     British oil major BP Plc is in talks to pay about $1.2 billion for a majority stake in a privately held Canadian company with large reserves of oil-rich sand deposits, the Sunday Times reported. A deal to take a stake in Value Creation Inc could anger environmentalists and some BP shareholders who fiercely oppose the oil sands business, which they say is expensive and environmentally damaging, the paper said. Value Creation is in financial trouble and faces being put into receivership on Monday, it reported. BP declined to comment.
468. 2010/02/14: Guardian(UK): Canada looks to China to exploit oil sands rejected by US
     Canada courts Chinese investment in Alberta oil projects as US firms boycott tar sands fuel

The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:

469. 2010/02/19: TEC: Simon v. Ehrlich, again
470. 2010/02/18: Guardian(UK): The price of environmental destruction? There is none
     Putting a price on nature becomes meaningless if we treat the ecosystems upon which we depend as mere commodities with a price for trading
471. 2010/02/01: MR: Beyond "Green Capitalism"
472. 2010/02/17: EnergyBulletin: The Transition Towns Movement: Its Huge Significance and a Friendly Criticism
473. 2010/02/17: Guardian(UK): 21 hours: a new working week?
     Keynes's vision of a short week looks far off. But more satisfying, sustainable lives are possible if we rethink norms of consumption
474. 2010/02/15: OilDrum: Energy Transitions and the Next "Paradigmatic Image of the World"

     IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology] raised its head once again:

475. 2010/02/18: G&M: Abortion not part of maternal-health initiative, development minister says
     The federal government won't add contraception and abortion to a package of initiatives aimed at improving women and children's health despite pleas from the Opposition to include the practices. International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said Thursday that Ottawa isn't changing its policy...

Apocalypso anyone?

476. 2010/02/08: AdBusters: Chris Hedges: Zero Point of Systemic Collapse -- We stand on the cusp of one of humanity's most dangerous moments
477. 2010/02/15: CCurrents: Viral Collapse

     As for how the media handles the science of climatology:

478. 2010/02/19: ClimateP: The Economist embraces climate media-ocrity with one inane paragraph -- In effort to outdo YouTube-quoting CBS, UK mag quotes a right-wing T-shirt!
479. 2010/02/19: MTobis: Who Watches the Watchmen?
480. 2010/02/15: CruelM: Yes, Our Press Corps Is That Bad
481. 2010/02/18: BSD: Wall Street Journal uses POV fork to gives denialists an uncontradicted platform
482. 2010/02/17: KSJT: Researchblogging.org: A different kind of science journalism
483. 2010/02/16: Grist: Citing Heritage, Dana Milbank attacks valid climate science as 'bordering on the outlandish'
484. 2010/02/16: SkeptiSci: Did Phil Jones really say global warming ended in 1995?
485. 2010/02/16: IoD: Fixing journalism
486. 2010/02/15: MediaMatters: In latest attack on climate science, conservative media distort BBC interview with CRU's Phil Jones
487. 2010/02/16: TP:WR: Citing Heritage, Dana Milbank Attacks Valid Climate Science As 'Bordering On The Outlandish'
488. 2010/02/14: TreeHugger: Beck and Ratigan Duel With Chalkboards Over Climate
489. 2010/02/15: CCP: And the witchhunt continues apace with Fred Pearce's willing participation: Climategate inquiry stumbles on the start line
490. 2010/02/15: ClimateP: RoseGate becomes DailyMailGate: Error-riddled articles and false statements destroy Daily Mail's credibilty
     Two top climate scientists and the NSIDC accuse Daily Mail of misquoting and misrepresenting them or their work.

Regarding the quality of blogospheric discussion:

491. 2010/02/19: ClimateWTF: Accountablity -- The problem with the current "debate"...is the asymmetry
492. 2010/02/20: MTobis: Carrot Eater and CWTF Call for Blog Accountability

     Here is something for your library:

493. 2010/02/19: ClimateShifts: A list of books about why the deniers are winning the media war
494. 2010/02/16: SublimeOblivion: Review of "Limits to Growth" (Meadows et al.)
495. 2010/02/14: HotTopic: [Book Review] _Greed to Green: Solving Global Warming and Remaking the Economy_ by Charles Derber

     Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

496. 2010/02/17: NYT:GW: 16 'Endangerment' Lawsuits Filed Against EPA Before Deadline
     Industry groups, conservative think tanks, lawmakers and three states filed 16 court challenges to U.S. EPA's "endangerment" finding for greenhouse gases before yesterday's deadline, setting the stage for a legal battle over federal climate policies. Filing petitions yesterday were the Ohio Coal Association, the Utility Air Regulatory Group, the Portland Cement Association, the state of Texas and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Another was filed by a coalition that includes the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the American Petroleum Institute, the Corn Refiners Association, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Oilseed Processors Association, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, and the Western States Petroleum Association. The lawsuits ask the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review EPA's determination that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare. That finding -- released in December in response to a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling -- allows the agency to regulate the heat-trapping emissions under the Clean Air Act. Observers expect the court to consolidate the petitions. Many industry groups and states argue that forthcoming EPA regulations will have devastating economic consequences, while EPA and environmentalists say the agency is required by law to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
497. 2010/02/15: NYT:GW: Lawsuits Roll In as EPA 'Endangerment' Deadline Looms

     Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:

498. 2010/02/21: OilDrum: Conventional Mining of Oil Shale
499. 2010/02/19: BBerg: Ormat CEO Expects to Double Power Output From Geothermal Plants
     Ormat Industries Ltd., the second- biggest owner of geothermal power plants in the U.S., expects to double its output, aided by cash from government stimulus programs, Chief Executive Dita Bronicki said. The company, based in Yavne, Israel, already has more than $13 million of U.S. government funding to probe for underground heat sources able to drive turbines at seven locations in Nevada, California and Hawaii. It's applying for loan guarantees "in excess of $100 million" that would back new plants in the same three states, she said in a telephone interview.
500. 2010/02/11: Grist: Principles -- Policy fixes to unleash clean energy, part 4
501. 2010/02/15: Grist: Utility Policy Reforms -- Policy fixes to unleash clean energy, part 5
502. 2010/02/19: Grist: Environmental Policy Reforms -- Policy fixes to unleash clean energy, part 6
503. 2010/02/19: PhysOrg: Scientists unlock mystery in photosynthesis step
504. 2010/02/18: TEC: Survey: Utility execs pro-nuke climate skeptics
505. 2010/02/18: CSM: Solar power vs. geothermal: Which works better?
506. 2010/02/17: PhysOrg: Future of Hydrogen Fuel Flows Through New NIST Test Facility
507. 2010/02/18: SciDaily: Photosynthesis: A New Source of Electrical Energy? Biofuel Cell Works in Cactus
508. 2010/02/18: OilChange: The $80 Billion Investment in Venezuela's Heavy Oil
509. 2010/02/18: AutoBG: Consumer attitude data proves it once again: gas is too cheap in America
510. 2010/02/18: SolveClimate: $2.36 Trillion? Report on Costs of Drilling Moratorium Has Holes, Economists Say
511. 2010/02/17: PhysOrg: A new way to build membranes for fuel cells
     A team of researchers at MIT and Pennsylvania State University has been developing a new method for producing novel kinds of membranes that could have improved properties for batteries, fuel cells and other energy conversion and storage applications.
512. 2010/02/16: TEC: Cleantech Economics 101: Higher Fossil Fuel Prices; More Cleantech
513. 2010/02/17: BBC: Oil deal 'damaging for Uganda'
     Uganda's environment is being put at risk by a secret deal between the government and a UK oil firm, a lobby group has told the BBC. The pressure group Platform said Tullow Oil had framed a deal with no provision for the environmental or social impact of oil extraction in Uganda. But the firm said the deal was standard and that its company practices would ensure environmental protection.
514. 2010/02/16: PhysOrg: University of Oklahoma 'clean energy' technology [a new class of thermoelectric devices] promises gains in efficiency
     A "clean energy" technology under development at the University of Oklahoma promises transformational advances with products that convert heat directly to useful electrical power.
515. 2010/02/16: TreeHugger: Globally Flared Gas Could Meet 1/4 Of The US' Needs!
516. 2010/02/10: CDreams: Burn Up the Biosphere and Call It Renewable Energy: The New Taxpayer Bailout That Will Make You Sick AND Poor
     Just when you thought the biofuels bad dream was about over along comes the nightmare of "biomass."
517. 2010/02/16: Guardian(UK): Tullow Oil given licence to flare Ugandan gas -- could release huge volumes of greenhouse gases
518. 2010/02/15: SciDaily: Hydrogen Production Via Thermal Gasification of Biomass in Near-to-Medium Term
519. 2010/02/15: OilDrum: Energy Transitions and the Next "Paradigmatic Image of the World"

     Fracking is under investigation:

520. 2010/02/19: Grist: What the Frack? Halliburton secret spurs investigation into gas-drilling practices
521. 2010/02/19: ProPublica: Congress Launches Investigation Into [Fracking] Gas Drilling Practices
522. 2010/02/19: PlanetArk: House Committee Investigates [fracking] Drilling Practice
523. 2010/02/19: PlanetArk: Shale Gas Gambit Pits NY Neighbor Against Neighbor
524. 2010/02/19: Reuters: US House committee probes natgas drilling practice
     Shale gas could make U.S. self-sufficient in gas by 2030 - Some in Congress want to give EPA regulatory authority - Residents say shale gas pollutes water. Drillers deny it - EPA says it will study environmental, health impacts
525. 2010/02/18: Reuters: Most oil majors hunting for shale gas in Europe -- Researcher says at least 40 firms in European shale hunt
526. 2010/02/18: PlanetArk: Gas Drillers Find Welcome Mat In New York State
     Binghamton, New York - New York landowners whose properties sit on the gas-rich Marcellus Shale are pushing back against calls for greater environmental regulation, saying it has halted the U.S. gas drilling boom at the New York border. Their concerns have opened a new front in the gas drilling wars, in which environmentalists and neighbors opposed to seeing gas wells in their back yards have put a drag on the exponential growth of onshore U.S. natural gas production. A group of landowners who stand to earn a windfall from leasing their property to companies like Chesapeake Energy gathered in the town of Binghamton recently to push back against claims that drilling could pose health hazards.
527. 2010/02/18: NRDC:SwitchBoard: Confirmed use of diesel in hydraulic fracturing fluids
528. 2010/02/17: NRDC:SwitchBoard: NRDC Launches Ad Campaign on Gas Drilling in NY's Marcellus Shale

     The answer my friend...:

529. 2010/02/19: EL: NREL Finds Wind Resources Higher than Initial Estimates
     The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's most recent assessment shows that U.S. wind resources are larger than previously estimated, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). A key finding of the new assessment shows that onshore U.S. wind resources could generate nearly 37,000,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, more than nine times current total U.S. electricity consumption. The previous national government survey, conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory, estimated U.S. wind potential at 10,777,000 GWh.
530. 2010/02/17: REA: Economics of Taller Wind Towers
531. 2010/02/19: NRDC:SwitchBoard: Outer Continental Shelf [OCS] Wind Energy Summit
532. 2010/02/19: PeakEnergy: Norway Plans 10 MW Wind Turbines
533. 2010/02/19: STimes: Avista pushes back Reardan wind farm construction
     Avista will delay construction of a 50-turbine wind farm near Reardan, Lincoln County, until at least 2014, citing the high costs associated with harnessing energy from the wind. Avista had planned to have the farm operating in 2013 so it could qualify for federal and state tax credits, but officials now say the electricity won't be needed for several more years. This is the second delay for the project, which was first announced in 2008.
534. 2010/02/18: TEC: The trouble with wind power
535. 2010/02/18: CBC: Ice halts northern N.B. wind farm
     Northern New Brunswick's cold, icy weather is causing wind turbines to freeze and stop producing power at the Caribou Wind Park near Bathurst. The new wind farm's 33 turbines have been generating power since November, but they have been forced to shut down for the past two days due to ice forming on some of the blades. The wind farm has been battling ice problems all winter.
536. 2010/02/16: TEC: 20% wind by 2030 not on track

     Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

537. 2010/02/21: NewScientist: Silicon wire forest makes wearable solar cells
538. 2010/02/16: FuturePundit: Caltech Scientists Hit New Solar Conversion Efficiency
539. 2010/02/19: NYT:GW: Developer Proposes 30,000 Solar Dishes in Calif. Desert
540. 2010/02/15: REA: The Transition from Standard PV to AC Modules
     [...]
     We are entering the new age of PV systems and it is all about micro-inverters and ultimately, fully integrated PV modules that directly produce AC power. The idea of combining a standard PV module with a small DC-to-AC inverter, or micro-inverter, occurred first in the early 1990s as a concept to simplify PV systems.
541. 2010/02/18: Oregonian: Solarized Portland on a mission to make solar panels affordable for all
542. 2010/02/10: Ecologist: What's stopping us getting solar power from deserts?
543. 2010/02/18: PlanetArk: Solar Project Desertec About To Add 5 Partners
544. 2010/02/16: SciAm: Photovoltaic Breakthroughs Brighten Outlook for Cheap Solar Power -- Novel materials might make harvesting sunlight for electricity affordable
545. 2010/02/16: SolveClimate: IBM Breakthrough Could Deliver Low-Cost Efficient Solar
546. 2010/02/16: Eureka: Caltech researchers create highly absorbing, flexible solar cells with silicon wire arrays
547. 2010/02/14: NatureN: Silicon whiskers catch rays well -- New device could make solar cells cheaper
548. 2010/02/15: PlanetArk: Chinese Solar To Gain On Subsidy Cuts In Europe
549. 2010/02/14: Reuters: A new wire twist on silicon solar cells
     U.S. researchers have devised a way to make flexible solar cells with silicon wires that use just 1 percent of the material needed to make conventional solar cells. The eventual hope is to make thin, light solar cells that could be incorporated into clothing, for instance but the immediate benefit is cheaper and easier-to-install solar panels, the researchers said.

On the coal front:

550. 2010/02/15: MF&C: Black Dog Plant may be latest to replace coal with natural gas
     Xcel Energy's Black Dog Plant is expected to become an all-natural-gas powered facility, significantly cutting emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon in the Minnesota River Valley.

Biofuel bickering abounds:

551. 2010/02/16: IR^2: A Redundant [ethanol] Subsidy
552. 2010/02/17: IR^2: Algal Oil for $2 a Gallon?
553. 2010/02/17: IR^2: Looks Like I Struck a Nerve
554. 2010/02/18: IR^2: Another Response to the DARPA Claim
555. 2010/02/19: PhysOrg: More, Better Biodiesel -- Yields increased up to 24 percent
556. 2010/02/19: NRDC:SwitchBoard: Must read on biofuel tax credit reform
557. 2010/02/18: TEC: Looks Like I Struck a Nerve [ethanol]
558. 2010/02/17: OilDrum: A Redundant [ethanol] Subsidy
559. 2010/02/15: Eureka: Biofuels policy fails to achieve goals warns study
560. 2010/02/16: BBC: Big business leaves big forest footprints
     Consumers around the globe are not aware that they are "eating" rainforests, says Andrew Mitchell. In this week's Green Room, he explains how many every-day purchases are driving the destruction of the vital tropical ecosystems.
561. 2010/02/15: EurActiv: Controversy mounts over EU biofuels fall-out
     Fresh controversy is mounting within the European Union over biofuels and their unintended impact on tropical forests and wetlands, documents show.
562. 2010/02/15: PlanetArk: Controversy Mounts In EU Over Fall-Out From Biofuel
     Fresh controversy is mounting within the European Union over biofuels and their unintended impact on tropical forests and wetlands, documents show. One leaked document from the EU's executive, the European Commission, suggests biofuel from palm oil might get a boost from new environmental criteria under development. But another contains a warning from a top official that taking full account of the carbon footprint of biofuels might "kill" an EU industry with annual revenues of around $5 billion.
563. 2010/02/15: Independent(UK): Seeds of discontent: the 'miracle' crop [jatropha] that has failed to deliver
564. 2010/02/15: BBC: BA in deal for jet biofuel plant
     British Airways has struck a deal to build the first plant in Europe to produce jet fuel from waste matter. Some 500,000 tonnes of waste will be used by the UK facility each year to produce 16 million gallons of fuel. Construction of the plant in east London will start within two years. It is set to produce fuel from 2014, creating up to 1,200 jobs. BA said the plant would produce twice the amount of fuel needed to power all its flights from London City Airport. It would only account for about 2% of flights from Heathrow, however.

The nuclear energy controversy continues:

565. 2010/02/18: USGS: USGS report details uranium resources and potential effects of uranium mining near Grand Canyon
566. 2010/02/19: SciAm: Are New Types of Reactors Needed for the U.S. Nuclear Renaissance?
     Ongoing problems with nuclear waste might resurrect plans for reactors that would leave less of it
567. 2010/02/19: NBF: mPower Reactor Gets Support from Utilities
568. 2010/02/19: NBF: Uranium Enrichment Economics
569. 2010/02/17: WorldChanging: The Nuclear Energy Debate [list of articles]
570. 2010/02/17: SolveClimate: Obama's $8 Billion Nuclear Boost Dogged by Safety Concerns -- [Westinghouse] AP1000 [reactors] May Be Too Weak for Extreme Weather, Government Watchdogs Fear
571. 2010/02/18: DemNow: "A Bad Day for America": Anti-Nuclear Activist Harvey Wasserman Criticizes Obama Plan to Fund Nuclear Reactors
572. 2010/02/18: AlterNet: Obama's Just Pledged Billions for the 20th Century's Most Expensive Technological Failure -- Nuclear Power
573. 2010/02/18: BNC: IFR FaD context -- the need for U.S. implementation of the IFR
574. 2010/02/17: PeakEnergy: New Nuclear Power Costs Too High?
575. 2010/02/16: BNC: IFR FaD 3 -- the LWR versus IFR fuel cycle

     Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

576. 2010/02/18: Telegraph(UK): Barclays and Bank of America see looming oil crunch
     For oil markets, it as if the Great Recession never happened. Surging demand in China, India and the Middle East is making up for decline in the debt-crippled West, ensuring another global crunch within three or four years.
577. 2010/02/17: TAE: Did peak oil cause the present financial crisis?
578. 2010/02/17: OilDrum: Bloomington, Indiana Peak Oil Task Force has Lots of Ideas
579. 2010/02/18: OilDrum: Peak Oil: Looking for the Wrong Symptoms?
580. 2010/02/18: TEC: Mexican dreams
581. 2010/02/18: EnergyBulletin: The peak oil crisis: the crunch

     More people are talking about the electrical grid:

582. 2010/02/18: PhysOrg: Smart Grid could re-energize an aging system
583. 2010/02/19: Eureka: Smart electricity transmission systems needed to achieve the full potential of renewable energies
584. 2010/02/19: TEC: Smart grid is just the start...
585. 2010/02/17: Grist: Smarter grids, appliances, and consumers [Lester Brown]
586. 2010/02/17: USAToday: Utilities' transition to smart grid has promise, but potholes, too
587. 2010/02/09: Cryptome: Consumer Interface With the Smart Grid

     Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:

588. 2010/02/21: PhysOrg: Electric bikes on a roll in China
589. 2010/02/20: EnergyBulletin: The world-saving habit you'll hate (and the great puzzle of the well-intentioned do-nothings)
590. 2010/02/19: PhysOrg: Cars Emerge as Key Atmospheric Warming Force: Study
591. 2010/02/19: OilDrum: An Updated Look at Lithium Production
592. 2010/02/18: NatureTGB: Electric car race
593. 2010/02/17: ClimateP: The Verdict's in on the Chevy Volt
594. 2010/02/18: AutoBG: Greenlings: How do hybrids and electric vehicles blend regenerative and friction braking?
595. 2010/02/17: Guardian(UK): San Francisco gears up for age of electric car
596. 2010/02/16: AutoBG: GM subjects 2011 Chevrolet Volt to cold-weather testing in Canada, eh?

     The vehicle-to-grid idea caught some exposure this week:

597. 2010/02/19: SciNow: Drive Green, Make Money [V2G]
598. 2010/02/19: Grist: All-electric plug-in project seeks to make the family car a cash cow [V2G]
599. 2010/02/19: SciDaily: Electric Avenue: Electric Cars on a Two-Way Street? [vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration]

     The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

600. 2010/02/18: EnvFin: Companies not satisfying thirst for water reporting
     One hundred water-dependent firms have been chastised by investors for weak disclosure of their exposure to water risks. The best score in a survey by investor coalition Ceres of global listed companies in water-intensive sectors such as chemicals, electric power and mining was earned by UK drinks firm Diageo -- but it managed to garner only 43 out of a possible 100 points. Eighty of the companies scored less than 30 points.

Joe Romm posts a daily list of top energy and climate stories:

601. 2010/02/19: ClimateP: Energy and Global Warming News for February 19...
602. 2010/02/18: ClimateP: Energy and Global Warming News for February 18...
603. 2010/02/17: ClimateP: Energy and Global Warming News for February 17
604. 2010/02/16: ClimateP: Energy and Global Warming News for February 16...

     Other (weekly) lists:

605. 2010/02/18: Grist: Lacking Environmental Capital -- The Climate Post: Melting ice makes slippery slope
606. 2010/02/15: DawgsBlawg: Climate Roundup

     The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

607. 2010/02/21: BNC: Do climate sceptics and anti-nukes matter? or: How I learned to stop worrying and love energy economics
608. 2010/02/20: NRDC:SwitchBoard: See if you can guess what I am now?
609. 2010/02/15: Tamino: Summer and Smoke
610. 2010/02/15: Tamino: Dropouts
611. 2010/02/19: TEC: The nature of climate change deniers
612. 2010/02/20: ERabett: Waking Up Is Hard to Do
613. 2010/02/19: PS: The Phony Attack on Climate Science by Jeffrey D. Sachs
614. 2010/02/19: Guardian(UK): Climate sceptics are recycled critics of controls on tobacco and acid rain
     We must not be distracted from science's urgent message: we are fuelling dangerous changes in Earth's climate
615. 2010/02/18: TEC: Survey: Utility execs pro-nuke climate skeptics
616. 2010/02/19: TCoE: The nature of climate change deniers
617. 2010/02/19: Deltoid: The Australian's War on Science 45
618. 2010/02/18: ERabett: Piers Throws Benny Under the Bus
619. 2010/02/19: HotTopic: La-la Land again: Jim Hopkins gets it wrong
620. 2010/02/17: Forbes: Climate Change Of Pace [Fumento]
621. 2010/02/18: JQuiggin: Monckton meets his match
622. 2010/02/17: AstroBlog: Snowballs, Snowjobs and the Lambert-Monckton Debate
623. 2010/02/18: Deltoid: Snowball earth refutes low climate sensitivity
624. 2010/02/12: PressEurop: Of climate sceptics, cryptoscience and bunk
     Climate sceptics are riding high these days. With a sizeable helping of bad faith, they exploit every little scientific slip-up to claim that global warming is not due to human activity -- and to malign the IPCC, the international organisation to gauge climate change, warns the NRC Handelsblad.
625. 2010/02/18: ScottsDiatribe: A lack of consistency in arguments
626. 2010/02/17: TPL: More lies, damned lies and statistics...
627. 2010/02/18: HotTopic: A visitor from La-la Land: Garth George gets it wrong (again)
628. 2010/02/18: Tamino: Cherry Snow
629. 2010/02/17: TCoE: CFCs or CO2, same song, different verse
630. 2010/02/17: IoD: What is this "settled science" of which you speak?
631. 2010/02/17: ERabett: Defining Denial Down...misrepresenting John Houghton...
632. 2010/02/16: Deltoid: Shorter Andrew Bolt
633. 2010/02/16: TPL: One of these things is not like the other...
634. 2010/02/16: Guardian(UK): Hostage to hot air
     The climate debate in the US -- and so the world -- is mired in political weakness and infighting
635. 2010/02/16: GreenGrok: Climate Reality Trumped By the Donald
636. 2010/02/16: TreeHugger: Donald Trump, Climate Scientist
637. 2010/02/16: DeSmogBlog: The Storm-Rankled Donald Trumps Al Gore's Snow Job
638. 2010/02/16: DeSmogBlog: A Look Back on Climate Disinformation
639. 2010/02/16: AFTIC: Ian Plimer debate George Monbiot [video]
640. 2010/02/16: DeepClimate: Morano sends lies from UK Times and Daily Mail around the world
641. 2010/02/15: TPL: Hot off the press: Skeptic game of telephone
642. 2010/02/15: TPL: Turtles all the way down
643. 2010/02/15: CCP: Real Climate goes over the so-called "errors" in the IPCC report: IPCC errors -- facts and spin [media]
644. 2010/02/16: IJI: Lambert-Monckton debate: we were wrong
645. 2010/02/15: ERabett: Developing -- the source of Monckton's favorite fabricated Houghton quote
646. 2010/02/14: D-HW: Where have we heard this before?
647. 2010/02/14: EnergyBulletin: Climate change deniers and our human nature

     Tim Lambert has clearly had enough of denialist propaganda:

648. 2010/02/20: Deltoid: Leakegate: How Jonathan Leake concocted 'Africagate'
649. 2010/02/19: Deltoid: Now it's Timesgate
650. 2010/02/18: Deltoid: Leakegate: Yes, Leake was responsible for that bogus story about the carbon footprint of Google
651. 2010/02/18: Deltoid: Leakegate: Leake misrepresents Bruce Hood
652. 2010/02/17: Deltoid: Akermangate: Piers Akerman fabricates some more
653. 2010/02/18: Deltoid: Leakegate: Introducing the Jonathan Leake game
654. 2010/02/16: Deltoid: Leakegate: On stovepiping and plagiarism
655. 2010/02/16: Deltoid: Leakegate: Leake verballed Richard Dawkins
656. 2010/02/15: Deltoid: Leakegate: Jonathan Leake caught misrepresenting another scientist
657. 2010/02/15: Deltoid: Journalismgate
658. 2010/02/15: Deltoid: Akermangate
659. 2010/02/14: Deltoid: Leakegate: the case for fraud

     Meanwhile in the 'clean coal' saga:

660. 2010/02/18: TEC: Mountaintop Removal Mining: Why There's No Such Thing as 'Clean Coal'

     As for climate miscellanea:

661. 2010/02/20: TCoE: Reading the graphs
662. 2010/02/19: TPL: The One -- Chopped Down to Size
663. 2010/02/18: AJaffe: Climate Change: Who Should I Believe?
664. 2010/02/17: ClimateP: An illustrated guide to the latest climate science
665. 2010/02/16: ClimateSight: How to Prove Global Warming Wrong
666. 2010/02/17: EconView: Friedman: Scientists Should Fight Back
     Thomas Friedman calls for scientists to go on the offensive against climate change deniers and skeptics
667. 2010/02/16: NatureCF: How a computer expert corrected the Met Office
668. 2010/02/15: ClimateP: The Climate Science Project, Part 2: How we know global warming is happening -- Skeptical Science explains: It's the oceans, stupid!
669. 2010/02/15: TCoE: A weatherman who gets it
670. 2010/02/15: EnergyBulletin: Ethics, Epistemology and "Dirty Rotten Strategies"
671. 2010/02/15: JKB: Recommended reading

     And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:

672. ClimateWTF
673. AAAS: 2010 Annual Meeting: 18-22 February; San Diego
674. Eureka: AAAS Newsroom
675. Cruel Mistress
676. DESERTEC Foundation
677. EPA: Study to Evaluate the Impacts to USDWs by Hydraulic Fracturing of Coalbed Methane Reservoirs
678. Rob Dunbar - Ice Stories: Dispatches From Polar Scientists
679. Wiki: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
680. SourceWatch on American Legislative Exchange Council
681. Sublime Oblivion
682. TGM: The Green Miles
683. Climate Safety
684. Research Blogging
685. Beyond Zero Emissions
686. The Oil Sands of Canada
687. The Mountain Sentinel
688. IR^2: IR-Squared
689. Worldwatch Institute

     ---

     Low Key Plug

     My first novel Water was published in Canada May, 2007. The American release was in October. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk. An overview of my writing is available here.

     <regards>
     

     -het

     P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.

     ---

     "We still have a climate crisis, an economic crisis and a national security crisis ... they are united by the thread of dependence on carbon-based fuel, you pull that thread and the crises unravel." -Al Gore

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