Another week of GW News, March 27, 2011

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

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Another week of Climate Disruption News

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

March 27, 2011

• Chuckles, Fukushima Heroes, Bad News, Fukushima Reactions, Fukushima Talk
• WWD, WMD, Earth Hour, WikiLeaks, Young, Ruddiman
• Bottom Line, UNGCF, The Question, Effectiveness, Cook, BEST
• Melting Arctic, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Food Prices, Food vs. Biofuel, Land Grabs, GMOs, Food Production
• Hurricanes, Ozone, Paleoclimate, Historical Climate
• ENSO, Solar, Ocean Currents, State of the Oceans, Extinctions
• Impacts, Forests, Wildfires, Glaciers, Floods & Droughts
• Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs , Misc. Science, DIY Science, Thompson, Wegman
• Rio 2012, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax
• International Politics: Security, Law & Activism, Activism, Polls, Water Politics & Business
• National Politics: America, BP Disaster, Canute, Irony, Heliocentrism, Obama, USAdmin, Congress, Lobbyists
• Britain, Europe, Australia, Carbon War, India, China
• Canada, Budget, Post G20, Quebec vs N.&L., Pipelines, Darlington, AECL
• Megaloads, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, North, Canadiana
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Podcasts, Courts, Betting
• Energy, Fracking, Wind, Solar, FITs, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Grid
• Efficiency, Cars, Energy Storage, Oil & Gas
• Greenwashing, FAQs, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Miscellaneous Climate, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

We are definitely back in the black humour zone:

1. 2011/03/27: uComics: (cartoon - Auth) Fallback
2. 2011/03/27: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Waiting Period
3. 2011/03/22: Seppo: (cartoon - Seppo) World Water Day 2011
4. 2011/03/25: SeattlePI: (cartoon - Horsey) Be A Patrito Kid!
5. 2011/03/24: TCoE: (cartoon - TomTom) Talk to the (invisible) hand (of the free market)
6. 2011/03/21: uComics: (cartoon - Rall) Environmentalists Accused...
7. 2011/03/21: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Maybe It's Time...
8. 2011/03/21: WaPo:TToles: Fine for a painting, but not for a planet?
9. 2011/03/20: DeSmogBlog: Yes Men Take On Enbridge With Creative Activism

   In homage to the Fukushima heroes:

10. 2011/03/25: EarthTimes: Armed with a flashlight in nuclear hell
11. 2011/03/23: BDL: The Fukushima Fifty...

    I woke up this morning to more bad news from Fukushima:

12. 2011/03/27: NatureTGB: Fukushima -- Radioactivity 10-million times normal detected at reactor 2
13. 2011/03/27: EarthTimes: Radiation in reactor [2] building 10 million times above normal
14. 2011/03/27: BBC: Japan nuclear: Workers evacuated as radiation soars
    Radioactivity in water at reactor 2 at the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant has reached 10 million times the usual level, company officials say.
15. 2011/03/27: CBC: Radiation skyrockets inside Japan nuclear plant
    Japanese officials reported a huge jump in radioactivity -- levels 10 million times the norm -- in water in one reactor unit at a tsunami-damaged nuclear plant Sunday, forcing workers to evacuate and again delaying efforts to control the leaking complex. Radiation in the air, meanwhile, measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour -- four times the limit deemed safe by the government, Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Takashi Kurita said. Word of the startling jump in radioactivity in Unit 2 came as TEPCO struggled to pump contaminated water from four troubled reactor units at the overheated Fukushima Daiichi plant, 220 kilometres northeast of Tokyo. The reading was so high that the worker measuring the levels fled before taking a second reading, officials said.

The ramifications of Fukushima for nuclear policies continue to play out around the world:

16. 2011/03/25: EUO: Leaders tell EU neighbours to stress-test nuclear plants
    EU leaders have called on neighbouring states including Russia and Ukraine to carry out 'stress tests' on their nuclear plants.
17. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Causes India To Review But Not Halt 9.9 GW Mega-Power Plant
18. 2011/03/23: EarthTimes: Hungary says it will go forward with nuclear plant expansion
19. 2011/03/23: EarthTimes: Italy freezes nuclear plans
20. 2011/03/22: EarthTimes: US nuclear regulator under fire for extending new license [Conn. Yankee]
21. 2011/03/22: DerSpiegel: The Dirty Bridge to a Green Future -- How Quickly Can Germany Abandon Nuclear Energy?
    The new national energy plan unveiled by the German government last autumn is already obsolete in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Berlin now faces the challenge of devising a new mix of fossil and renewable energy sources to prevent the worst effects of climate change. But how quickly can Germany dispense with nuclear power and what will the phase-out really cost?
22. 2011/03/22: EarthTimes: Austria pushes for EU-wide nuclear phase-out
23. 2011/03/22: EarthTimes: Merkel appoints panel for advice on nuclear risks
24. 2011/03/22: EarthTimes: Swedes turn against nuclear power after Japan crisis, poll

    And of course, the pundits. lobbyists and politicians have a lot to say:

25. 2011/03/26: EnergyBulletin: Dr. Helen Caldicott on the nuclear disaster in Japan
26. 2011/03/26: BBC: Germany stages anti-nuclear marches after Fukushima
27. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au):TDU: Monbiot goes nuclear: too much too soon
28. 2011/03/24: Guardian(UK): George Monbiot is wrong. Nuclear power is not the way to fight climate change by Jeremy Leggett
    Renewable energy is a safe, clean source which will become cheaper as we invest in it
29. 2011/03/24: CCurrents: George Monbiot Is Wrong. Nuclear Power Is Not The Way To Fight Climate Change by Jeremy Leggett
30. 2011/03/24: OpenDem: After Fukushima
    As we pursue the abolition of nuclear weapons, we also need to phase out reliance on nuclear energy. Both are incompatible with our environmental and human security, says Rebecca Johnson.
31. 2011/03/22: BrattleboroReformer: The meltdown in Japan and our energy future
32. 2011/03/25: DVoice: Nuclear vs Oil: The Devil We Know
33. 2011/03/23: FuturePundit: Tsunami Risk To Nuclear Plants Foreseen And Ignored
34. 2011/03/15: CBC: FAQs: Radiation's health effects
35. 2011/03/18: TBAS: In this nuclear world, what is the meaning of 'safe'?
36. 2011/03/24: BBC:RB: Reflections on a fortnight in Fukushima
37. 2011/03/24: ClimateP: NY Times: "It Could Happen Here"
38. 2011/03/24: PlanetArk: German Nuclear Panel To Probe Cooling At Plants
39. 2011/03/24: Grist: How the U.S. narrowly avoided its own Fukushima-style disaster in 1992
40. 2011/03/23: Grist: Why is no one talking about how bad the Japan nuke disaster could be?
41. 2011/03/24: EarthTimes: German anti-nuclear group runs out of campaign material
42. 2011/03/24: NBF: Germany exploring a transition from nuclear power at a cost of at least $210 billion and want the rest of Europe to pay more for energy too
43. 2011/03/23: PressEurop: Muddled Merkel calls in nuclear wise men
44. 2011/03/24: PressEurop: Against Monbiot -- against nuclear love
    In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, Presseurop published an endorsement of nuclear power by the environmentalist author George Monbiot. In a direct rebuttal, German author and physicist Ralf Bönt denounces what he considers the cynicism of nuclear energy's proponents.
45. 2011/03/23: BBerg: Atomic Cleanup Cost Goes to Japan's Taxpayers, May Spur Liability Shift
46. 2011/03/23: BizInsider: TBTF: The Simple Reason TEPCO Will Survive The Nuclear Crisis
47. 2011/03/21: AlterNet: What It's Like Living in Our Nuclear Sacrifice Zone: One Woman's Story About Radiation Exposure in the US
48. 2011/03/23: EnergyBulletin: Five lessons from a month in hell
49. 2011/03/24: BNC: It's nuclear power or it's climate change
50. 2011/03/23: ClassM: The future of nuclear power = [null set]
51. 2011/03/23: ClimateP: Tokyo tap water declared unsafe for infants
52. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): Safety first, climate second in shifting US nuclear debate
53. 2011/03/23: DerSpiegel: Leading Climatologist on Fukushima -- 'We Are Looting the Past and Future to Feed the Present'
    Leading German climate scientist Hans Joachim Schellnhuber talks to Spiegel about the lessons of the Fukushima disaster, the future of nuclear energy in Germany and why our society needs to be transformed. "We consume as much oil in one year as was created in 5.3 million years," he warns.
54. 2011/03/22: ClimateP: The Nukes of Hazard
55. 2011/03/22: NatureN: Questions loom over US nuclear safety -- In the aftermath of the Japan crisis, eyes turn to California
56. 2011/03/22: ScienceInsider: Quake Question #12: Can Nuclear Reactors Survive Blackouts?
57. 2011/03/22: TreeHugger: Three Mile Island Meltdown Led to Rise in Miscarriages, Still Births, Down Syndrome Children [energy]
58. 2011/03/21: TStar: Forget meltdowns. The real nuclear problem is waste
59. 2011/03/21: SEasterbrook: Safe nuclear power?
60. 2011/03/20: BostonGlobe: Out of options -- A surprising culprit in the nuclear crisis
61. 2011/03/21: EurActiv: Calls to shut down 'Europe's Fukushima'
    A 40-year old Spanish nuclear power plant built to the same design model as Fukushima's disaster-struck reactor number one has become engulfed by calls for it to be shut down, while Brussels is questioning the safety of EU installations and has pushed for stress tests of nuclear power plants.
62. 2011/03/21: EUO: France rebukes EU energy chief over nuclear remarks
    Several European governments have openly rebuked EU energy chief Guenther Oettinger, after the commissioner's reference to a Japanese "apocalypse" last week sent financial markets into a spin.
63. 2011/03/21: Grist: What we can learn from Japan's nuclear disaster by Amory Lovins
64. 2011/03/20: EarthTimes: 100,000 march in Taiwan against new nuclear reactor
65. 2011/03/21: PeakEnergy: Bright green in a sea of nuclear red
66. 2011/03/20: NYT: Whatever Nuclear Power's Threat, No Easy Alternatives
67. 2011/03/21: BBC: UK nuclear plants must go ahead, says EDF
    The nuclear crisis unfolding in Japan will not affect the plans of French power giant EDF to build new reactors in the UK, the company's boss has told the BBC.
68. 2011/03/20: WtD: To nuclear, or not to nuclear... is that the question? Or how George Monboit has dropped the ball again

    World Water Day went down this week:

69. 2011/03/22: FAO: Innovations in water management needed to sustain cities
    On World Water Day, FAO stresses need to ensure adequate water supplies to swelling urban populations
70. 2011/03/23: TreeHugger: Infographic of the Day: What's Your "Water Footprint"?
71. 2011/03/22: TreeHugger: Happy World Water Day! 22 Key Stories for Understanding Water Issues
72. 2011/03/23: Rabble: World Water Day: A message from Maude Barlow
73. 2011/03/22: Guardian(UK): Throwing food away sends world's scarce water gushing down the plughole
74. 2011/03/22: UN: Secretary-General's message on World Water Day
75. 2011/03/22: UN: On World Water Day, UN calls for greater investment in providing clean water for all
76. 2011/03/22: UN: UN official calls attention to severe drought in Somalia on World Water Day
77. 2011/03/22: UN: In water-rich DR Congo, 50 million people lack clean water to drink - UN

    World Meteorological Day went down this week:

78. World Meteorological Day 2011
79. 2011/03/23: UN: UN celebrates contribution of climate services to human well-being on World [Meteorological] Day
80. 2011/03/23: HotTopic: Remember a (World Meteorological) day

    Earth Hour went down yesterday to mixed reviews:

81. 2011/03/27: ABC(Au): Earth Hour circles the globe
    Hundreds of landmark buildings and millions of ordinary homes have switched off their lights as the annual Earth Hour moved around the globe.
82. 2011/03/27: TStar: Toronto only sees 5 per cent power drop for Earth Hour
83. 2011/03/26: CBC: Earth Hour moving across world
84. 2011/03/26: Guardian(UK): Earth Hour is more than a gesture
85. 2011/03/26: Guardian(UK): Earth Hour - in [22] pictures
86. 2011/03/26: TWTB: Hey, look! It's "Earth Hour"
87. 2011/03/27: ABC(Au): Record Sydney switch-off kicks off Earth Hour
88. 2011/03/26: EarthTimes: Earth Hour provides dim view of Australia
89. 2011/03/26: EarthTimes: New Zealand switches off for Earth Hour
90. 2011/03/26: ABC(Au): The chairman of Western Australia's largest sustainability program says Earth Hour is tokenistic and a waste of time.
91. 2011/03/25: UN: Highlighting need for energy conservation, UN goes dark for Earth Hour 2011
92. 2011/03/24: EarthTimes: Tauranga leads New Zealand drive for Earth Hour
93. 2011/03/24: TreeHugger: Will the Last Person Celebrating Earth Hour Please Turn Out The Lights?
94. 2011/03/21: CSW: Earth Hour 2011: Lights out for Congressional climate change denialists
95. 2011/03/21: CSW: Record participation with 5 days until Earth Hour
96. 2011/03/21: EarthTimes: The lights dim for Australia's Earth Hour

    WikiLeaks keeps popping up with uncomfortable truths:

97. 2010/12/21: Guardian(UK): WikiLeaks cables: US pushed for reopening of Bangladesh coal mine
    [US] Ambassador urged country's energy adviser to approve plans, despite mine being closed in 2006 after violent protests
98. 2011/03/24: AlterNet: Big Coal WikiLeaks Emergency in Bangladesh: Does Obama Support Removal of 100,000 Villagers?
99. 2011/03/18: PressEurop: Italy -- WikiLeaks - nuclear industry corruption

    The Young et al.paper reported rising wind speeds:

100. 2011/03/27: CCP: Study finds wind speeds rose over world's oceans
101. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au): Wind speeds and wave heights over the world's oceans have been steadily increasing for the past quarter of a century, a new long-term study shows
102. 2011/03/24: SciNews: Global gale warning -- Strong winds increase on world's oceans

     Ruddiman et al. are back with more evidence for historical anthropomorphic climate influence:

103. 2011/02/07: Holocene: (ab$) Can natural or anthropogenic explanations of late-Holocene CO2 and CH4 increases be falsified? by W. F. Ruddiman et al.
104. 2010/12/24: Holocene: (ab$) Holocene carbon emissions as a result of anthropogenic land cover change by Jed O. Kaplan et al.
105. 2011/03/25: NatureN: The 8,000-year-old climate puzzle -- Models bolster case for early human effect on greenhouse-gas levels
     Scientists have come up with new evidence in support of the controversial idea that humanity's influence on climate began not during the industrial revolution, but thousands of years ago. Proposed by palaeoclimatologist William Ruddiman in 2003, the theory says that human influences offset the imminent plunge into another ice age and helped create the relatively stable climate that we are familiar with today. It has been repeatedly panned as implausible by palaeoclimate researchers, but eight years on, Ruddiman and others say that they have the data to support early anthropogenic climate change

And on the Bottom Line:

106. 2011/03/24: CCP: Costs of Inaction: Popular climate economic model (FUND) needs major overhaul -- uses data from 1996

     The UNGCF is meeting in April:

107. 2011/03/25: PlanetArk: Talks On UN "Green Fund" Set For Late April

     The Questionis still floating around:

108. 2011/03/26: Wunderground:RR: Reframing Attribution
109. 2011/03/20: NatureCC: Overstretching attribution by Camille Parmesan et al.

     Another angle on effective communication:

110. 2011/03/20: Eureka: Climate change hits home
     Direct experience of extreme weather events increases concern about climate change and willingness to engage in energy-saving behaviour, according to a new research paper published in the first edition of the journal Nature Climate Change this week.

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

111. 2011/03/26: SkeptiSci: Weather vs Climate by dansat
112. 2011/03/25: SkeptiSci: A climate 'Gish Gallop' of epic proportions
113. 2011/03/27: SkeptiSci: A Plan for 100% Energy from Wind, Water, and Solar by 2050 by dana1981
114. 2011/03/25: SkeptiSci: A Plan for 100% Renewable Energy by 2050 by dana1981
115. 2011/03/24: SkeptiSci: Of Satellites and Air - A Primer on Tropospheric temperature measurement by Satellite by Glenn Tamblyn
116. 2011/03/23: SkeptiSci: Why we have a scientific consensus on climate change by Thomas Stemler
117. 2011/03/23 SkeptiSci: Understanding Solar Evolution Pt. 1 by Chris Colose
118. 2011/03/22: SkeptiSci: Teaching Climate Science by Daniel Bailey
119. 2011/03/21: SkeptiSci: Preventing Misinformation by dana1981
120. 2011/03/21: SkeptiSci: The Libertarian Climate Conundrum by grypo
121. 2011/03/21: SkeptiSci: Pre-1940 Warming Causes and Logic by dana1981

     There are reports that BEST turned up some denier unfriendly results:

122. 2011/03/22: ClimateP: Bombshell 1: Climate science deniers claim to have full access to Berkeley temperature study work-product
     Bombshell 2: BEST's Project Chair Richard Muller confirms ClimateProgress reporting, contradicts WattsUpWithThat
123. 2011/03/21: BCLSB: BEST On Global Warming
124. 2011/03/20: CCP: James Inhofe's Global Warming is a Hoax Theory disproven by BEST temperature analysis -- "Inhofe Theory" disproven
125. 2011/03/20: ClimateP: Berkeley temperature study results "confirm the reality of global warming and support in all essential respects the historical temperature analyses of the NOAA, NASA, and HadCRU"
126. 2011/03/20: SMandia: BEST Project: Global T Record is Correct

     The Arctic melt continues to garner a lot of attention:

127. 2011/03/25: Eureka: Large-scale assessment of the Arctic Ocean -- Significant increase in freshwater content since 1990s
128. 2011/03/25: ClassM: Maximum meltdown
129. 2011/03/24: CCP: (Vikings did not grow grapes and make wine on Greenland): A. J. Dugmore et al., Polar Record. (2005),The Norse landnám on the North Atlantic islands: an environmental impact assessment
130. 2011/03/25: PlanetArk: Arctic Sea Ice Ties For Smallest Area This Winter
131. 2011/03/25: NatureTGB: Another bad winter for Arctic ice
132. 2011/03/24: AWI: Large-scale assessment of the Arctic Ocean: significant increase in freshwater content since 1990s
     The freshwater content of the upper Arctic Ocean has increased by about 20 percent since the 1990s. This corresponds to a rise of approx. 8,400 cubic kilometres and has the same magnitude as the volume of freshwater annually exported on average from this marine region in liquid or frozen form. This result is published by researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute in the journal Deep-Sea Research. The freshwater content in the layer of the Arctic Ocean near the surface controls whether heat from the ocean is emitted into the atmosphere or to ice. In addition, it has an impact on global ocean circulation.
133. 2011/03/23: NSIDC: Annual maximum ice extent reached
134. 2011/03/23: ClimateP: NSIDC: Annual maximum Arctic sea ice extent reached, "tied for the lowest in the satellite record."
135. 2011/03/23: Eureka: Measurements of winter Arctic sea ice shows continuing ice loss, says CU-Boulder study
136. 2011/03/25: ASI: First forecasts
137. 2011/03/23: Stoat: Sea ice - and now for something just a tiny bit different
138. 2011/03/22: QuarkSoup: Decline in Arctic Sea Ice Extent
139. 2011/03/22: ASI: Ice In Baffin Bay
140. 2011/03/22: ASI: SIE 2011 update 2: maximum extent (and area)

     As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

141. 2011/03/24: Reuters: U.S. submarines show force amid race for Arctic riches
     The United States is staging high-profile submarine exercises in the Arctic Ocean this month as evidence mounts that global warming will lead to more mining, oil production, shipping and fishing in the world's last frontier.
142. 2011/03/25: BBC: BP's deal with Russia's Rosneft 'could still go ahead'
     The chairman of Russian energy giant Rosneft has said he wants to push ahead with its alliance with BP.
143. 2011/03/24: EarthTimes: BP suffers setback in dispute over Arctic deal with Rosneft
144. 2011/03/25: BBC: TNK-BP blocks BP Russian Arctic venture with Rosneft [geop & courts]
     The chairman of Russian energy giant Rosneft has said the company will push ahead with its alliance with BP. Igor Sechin said that he is "satisfied" with BP as a partner despite a court ruling on Thursday throwing the alliance into question. "The court didn't block the deal. It extended the injunction until 7 April. We must await the verdict," he said. Shareholders in BP's existing Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, object to the tie-up with Rosneft. The shareholders, collectively known as Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), say the proposed deal with Rosneft to exploit oil and gas reserves in the Arctic violates an existing agreement between BP and TNK-BP.
145. 2011/03/22: OSun: Senate urges feds to beef up Arctic search and rescue

     While in Antarctica:

146. 2011/03/25: NSF: Antarctic Icebergs Play a Previously Unknown Role in Global Carbon Cycle, Climate
     Passage of icebergs through surface waters changes their physical and biological characteristics
147. 2011/03/24: moyhu: Trends in Antarctica

     The food crisis is ongoing:

148. 2011/03/24: BBerg: Worst Texas Drought in 44 Years Damaging Wheat Crop, Reducing Cattle Herds
149. 2011/03/25: RUVR: No Russian grain exports till September
150. 2011/03/25: Eureka: Study predicts large regional changes in farmland area
151. 2011/03/22: TGM: Middle East unrest will likely drive nitrogen fertilizer costs higher
152. 2011/03/24: EnergyBulletin: The coming global food fight
153. 2011/02/15: PolicyInnovations: Is Famine the New Norm?
154. 2011/03/24: BBC: Pakistan 'crop shortage' warning
     Lowering wheat prices would create food shortages in Pakistan and encourage smuggling, officials say, responding to criticism from the UN. On Wednesday the UN's food relief agency said the government set prices too high and malnutrition was rising. But an official at Pakistan's food ministry told the BBC farmers would simply switch to more lucrative crops if wheat prices went down. Devastating floods across Pakistan in 2010 damaged acres of arable land. Although crop yields in 2011 are projected to be healthy, prices are too high for an impoverished population, the director of the UN's World Food Programme told journalists on the sidelines of humanitarian meetings in Geneva on Wednesday.
155. 2011/03/23: UN: Global wheat production set to rise, but still below 2009 levels - UN report
     Global wheat production is set to rise by 3.4 per cent this year to 676 million tons, but the increase is still below the bumper harvests in 2008 and 2009, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in the March edition of its food situation forecast released today.
156. 2011/03/23: ProMedMail: Powdery mildew, barley - Australia: new strain
157. 2011/03/23: Grist: Can the United States feed China? by Lester Brown
158. 2011/03/22: CBC: Laos needs emergency food assistance: UN agencies
     Two UN aid agencies are calling for emergency food assistance for more than 111,000 people in Laos facing a shortage of their staple crop, rice.
159. 2011/03/21: AllAfrica: RFI: Zimbabwe: Govt Warns of Food Shortages As China Deals Signed
     [...]
     A crop assessment carried out in January found that the country had planted more maize than last year, and was expecting to harvest 1.7 million tonnes. But that was still short of the estimated 2.2 million tonnes needed.
160. 2011/03/22: TStar: 400,000 rely on food banks each month in Ontario
161. 2011/03/21: IdiotTracker: Tamino is watching the food
162. 2011/03/21: Tamino: Food for Thought
163. 2011/03/21: TreeHugger: How We Engineered the Food Crisis
164. 2011/03/20: Guardian(UK): How we engineered the food crisis
     Thanks to dysfunctional regulation of genetic engineering and misguided biofuels policy, the world's poorest are going hungry

Food Prices are still rising:

165. FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
166. 2011/03/24: BPA: Are Speculators to Blame for High Food Commodity Prices? No, and this Explains Why.
167. 2011/03/24: EnergyBulletin: Attributing the food price spike
168. 2011/03/24: EconBrowser: Commodity prices in pictures
169. 2011/03/23: EconView: The Cost of Food and Energy across Consumers
170. 2011/03/22: ClimateP: As food prices skyrocket, House committee calls for cutting food stamps instead of agriculture subsidies

     The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

171. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: Will Sustainable Biofuel Certification Scheme Put End to Food Versus Fuel Debate?
172. 2011/03/21: EconView: "Global Commodity Prices Track World Demand"

     So, are these land grabs Colonialism V2.0?

173. 2011/03/24: CCurrents: Land Grabs: What's In The Contracts? And An Indian Land Grab In Ethiopia
174. 2011/03/21: Guardian(UK): Ethiopia at centre of global farmland rush
     Locals move out as international contractors seize opportunities offered by government to lease farmland at knockdown rates

Regarding the genetic modification of food:

175. 2011/03/25: TruthOut: Farmers Sue USDA Over Monsanto Alfalfa - Again
176. 2011/03/23: TreeHugger: French GM Maize Ban Was Done Illegally: EU Court Official [not a ruling]
177. 2011/03/15: IndiaTimes: GM maize trials done on the sly: Nitish Kumar
178. 2011/03/22: PlanetArk: Bayer Ordered To Pay $136.8 Million In U.S. Rice Case

     And how are we going to feed 9 billion?

179. 2011/03/26: ClimateP: The End of Overfishing in America -- A key step toward sustainable marine life -- but many more remain
180. 2011/03/21: Atlantic: How to Feed the World by 2050: Biotech Isn't the Answer
181. 2011/03/25: G&M: Scientist named to boost Canada's sustainable food production
182. 2011/03/21: ArsTechnica: How to feed 9 billion people: the future of food and farming
183. 2011/03/: BIS: [many pdfs] Global Food and Farming Futures
184. 2011/03/20: AlterNet: Vision: Urban Gardening and Green Economy Flourish in Detroit

     Tropical Cyclone Bune spun around the South Pacific:

185. 2011/03/24: Eureka: NASA satellite attends the birth of Tropical Storm Bune in Southern Pacific
186. 2011/03/21: Eureka: NASA infrared satellite imagery shows Cyclone Cherono dwindling [Southern Indian Ocean]

     While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

187. 2011/03/24: WMO: WMO Hurricane Committee Retires Igor and Tomas from List of Atlantic Storms

     The ozone layer in the Arctic is acting up this year:

188. 2011/03/25: EurActiv: Developing ozone hole approaches Europe

     While in the paleoclimate:

189. 2011/03/24: Stanford: Algae and bacteria hogged oxygen after ancient mass extinction, slowing recovery of marine life, say Stanford researchers
     After the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history -- 250 million years ago -- algae and bacteria in the ocean rebounded so fast that they consumed virtually all the oxygen in the sea, slowing the recovery of the rest of marine animals for several million years.

And in historical times:

190. 2011/03/25: NatureTGB: Pinning down past interactions: climate and civilization

     While on the ENSO front:

191. 2011/03/22: Wunderground: La Niña becomes weak; February the globe's 14th-17th warmest on record

     Regarding the solar hypothesis:

192. 2011/03/23: GreenGrok: Solar Doubt Doth Grow

     As for ocean currents:

193. 2011/03/21: Eureka: Huge ocean 'Frisbees' spin off Brazil's coast -- University of Miami researchers find that rings are bigger, faster than previously thought

     And the State of the Oceans:

194. 2011/03/25: UN: Trash in world's oceans threatens wildlife, economy and human health, UN warns

     The Sixth Extinction came up again:

195. 2011/03/23: CBC: 45 Australian species heading for extinction

     More GW impacts are being seen:

196. 2011/03/24: USGS: Uncertain Future for Joshua Trees Projected with Climate Change
197. 2011/03/21: AlaskaDispatch: Climate change observers coming to rural Alaska
198. 2011/03/20: ClimateP: Population flight from growing desert of central Texas
199. 2011/03/21: NatureN: Biodiversity's ills not all down to climate change -- Researchers predicting the finer effects of climate warming on ecology should take care
200. 2011/03/20: Eureka: Think globally, but act locally when studying plants, animals, global warming, researchers advise
201. 2011/03/21: CBC: Atlantic Canada's harp seals drifting south

     And then there are the world's forests:

202. 2011/03/25: NatureTGB: Links between forest conservation and locals' livelihoods examined
203. 2011/03/25: Eureka: Surprise! Biodiversity and resource use may co-exist in tropical forests
     Local participation in forest management may simultaneously promote biodiversity and sustainable resource use for household livelihoods
204. 2011/03/24: CBC: Mangrove forests key to carbon sequestration: panel
205. 2011/03/21: UN: Forests expand in Europe and North America, but still vulnerable to climate change - UN
206. 2011/03/21: DeSmogBlog: Pew Report Highlights Importance Of Canada's Boreal Forest For Water Reserves and Climate

     As for heatwaves and wild fires:

207. 2011/03/23: KSN: After massive grass fire, ranchers fear 'dust bowl'
     Johnson City, Kansas -- Residents of Stanton County are still reeling in the aftermath of a massive fire that destroyed almost 60 square miles of land Tuesday night.
208. 2011/03/25: PlanetArk: Wildfires Cause Evacuations In Two Oklahoma Towns
209. 2011/03/24: PlanetArk: Hawaii Wildfire Threatens Protected Rainforest
210. 2011/03/24: EarthTimes: Hong Kong experts warn of hot days and the disappearance of winter

     Glaciers are melting:

211. 2011/03/22: NatureN: In the shadow of a melting glacier -- Climate change causes glacial lake to burst its banks seven times in three years

     As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

212. 2011/03/27: EarthTimes: Floods hit southern Thailand
213. 2011/03/24: UN: Head of UN rural development agency set to offer help on visit to drought-hit Kenya
214. 2011/03/24: Wunderground: Spring snowstorm adds to flooding potential for the Midwest
215. 2011/03/24: Eureka: Cutting carbon dioxide helps prevent drying
216. 2011/03/22: TreeHugger: Record Snowy Winter Means More Midwest Flooding On The Way - Along With Rising Wheat Prices
217. 2011/03/22: EarthTimes: Mongolia faces critical water shortage, UNEP report says

     Consider transportation & GHG production:

218. 2011/03/26: PeakEnergy: Green Ships
219. 2011/03/24: RRapier: Modes of Transportation
220. 2011/03/23: CalcRisk: DOT: Vehicle Miles Driven increased slightly in January
221. 2011/03/22: PNAN: Strong initial response creates buzz for $60,000 Electric Flight Prize at EAA AirVenture 2011
222. 2011/03/22: CBC: Cargo trikes gear up for Vancouver bike lanes
223. 2011/03/22: AutoBG: CO2 emissions of UK's new vehicles down 20 percent since 2000

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

224. 2011/03/24: TreeHugger: The Future of Green Building: Integrating Solar Power Into Glazing

     And on the carbon sequestration front:

225. 2011/03/23: OilChange: UK Gov Drops Consumer Levy on [electricity for] CCS

     Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

226. WG2: Joint IPCC Expert Meeting of WGI, WGII, and WGIII on Geoengineering -- 20-22 June 2011 - Lima, Peru
227. 2011/03/21: PhysOrg: Can geoengineering put the freeze on global warming?

     While on the adaptation front:

228. 2011/03/25: HotTopic: Bangladesh: lessons in adaptation
229. 2011/03/22: ERW: Adaptation 'needs to move up the agenda'
     Adaptation urgently needs to move up the climate change agenda, according to Richard Betts, head of climate impacts at the Met Office in the UK.

Meanwhile in the journals:

230. 2011/03/24: Science: (ab$) Global Trends in Wind Speed and Wave Height by I. R. Young et al.
231. 2011/03/22: NERC:NORA: Environmental issues in the geological disposal of carbon dioxide and radioactive waste by Julia M. West et al.
232. 2011/03/25: ACP: Origin and radiative forcing of black carbon transported to the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau by M. Kopacz et al.
233. 2011/03/25: ACP: Cloud condensation nuclei in polluted air and biomass burning smoke near the mega-city Guangzhou, China - Part 2: Size-resolved aerosol chemical composition, diurnal cycles, and externally mixed weakly CCN-active soot particles by D. Rose et al.
234. 2011/03/25: ACP: Representation of tropical deep convection in atmospheric models - Part 1: Meteorology and comparison with satellite observations by M. R. Russo et al.
235. 2011/03/25: ACPD: The detection of post-monsoon tropospheric ozone variability over south Asia using IASI data by B. Barret et al.
236. 2011/03/25: ACPD: Estimating seasonal variations in cloud droplet number concentration over the boreal forest from satellite observations by R. H. H. Janssen et al.
237. 2011/03/25: ACPD: Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) from fresh and aged air pollution in the megacity region of Beijing by S. S. Gunthe et al.
238. 2011/03/24: OS: The effect of tides on dense water formation in Arctic shelf seas by C. F. Postlethwaite et al.
239. 2011/03/24: GRL: (ab$) Why is there a short-term increase in global precipitation in response to diminished CO2 forcing? by Long Cao et al.
240. 2011/03/22: CP: Ultra-high resolution pollen record from the northern Andes reveals rapid shifts in montane climates within the last two glacial cycles by M. H. M. Groot et al.
241. 2011/03/21: CP: A regional ocean circulation model for the mid-Cretaceous North Atlantic Basin: implications for black shale formation by R. P. M. Topper et al.
242. 2011/03/24: CPD: Climate patterns in north central China during the last 1800 yr and its possible driving force by L. Tan et al.
243. 2011/03/22: CPD: Cold tongue/Warm pool and ENSO dynamics in the Pliocene by A. S. von der Heydt et al.
244. 2011/03/21: CPD: Tropical seaways played a more important role than high latitude seaways in Cenozoic cooling by Z. Zhang et al.
245. 2011/02/07: Holocene: (ab$) Can natural or anthropogenic explanations of late-Holocene CO2 and CH4 increases be falsified? by W. F. Ruddiman et al.
246. 2010/12/24: Holocene: (ab$) Holocene carbon emissions as a result of anthropogenic land cover change by Jed O. Kaplan et al.
247. 2011/03/25: Springer:WA&SP: A Vaccine Against Ignorance? by J. T. Trevors & M. H. Saier
248. 2011/03/25: Science: [Letter$] Energy Supplies - Peak Oil Production May Already Be Here by Richard A. Kerr
249. 2011/03/: JEQ: (ab$) Biochar Incorporation into Pasture Soil Suppresses in situ Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Ruminant Urine Patches by Arezoo Taghizadeh-Toosi et al.
250. 2011/03/23: ACP: Dry deposition of reactive nitrogen to European ecosystems: a comparison of inferential models across the NitroEurope network by C. R. Flechard et al.
251. 2011/03/22: ACP: Characteristics of CALIOP attenuated backscatter noise: implication for cloud/aerosol detection by D. L. Wu et al.
252. 2011/03/21: ACP: Atmospheric emissions from vegetation fires in Portugal (1990-2008): estimates, uncertainty analysis, and sensitivity analysis by I. M. D. Rosa et al.
253. 2011/03/23: ACPD: Response of the Antarctic stratosphere to warm pool El Niño Events in the GEOS CCM by M. M. Hurwitz et al.
254. 2011/03/23: ACPD: The impact of orbital sampling, monthly averaging and vertical resolution on climate chemistry model evaluation with satellite observations by A. M. Aghedo et al.
255. 2011/03/22: ACPD: Cloud-base vertical velocity statistics: a comparison between an atmospheric mesoscale model and remote sensing observations by J. Tonttila et al.
256. 2011/03/22: ACPD: Boreal forest fire emissions in fresh Canadian smoke plumes: C1-C10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), CO2, CO, NO2, NO, HCN and CH3CN by I. J. Simpson et al.
257. 2011/03/22: ACPD: Global precipitation response to changing external forcings since 1870 by A. Bichet et al.
258. 2011/03/22: PNAS: (ab$) Remotely sensed evidence of tropical peatland conversion to oil palm by Lian Pin Koh et al.
259. 2011/03/22: PNAS: (ab$) Climatological determinants of woody cover in Africa by Stephen P. Good & Kelly K. Caylor
260. 2011/03/22: PNAS: (ab$) Cultivation of cereals by the first farmers was not more productive than foraging by Samuel Bowles
261. 2011/03/22: PNAS: (Letter$) Enhanced silicate weathering is not limited by silicic acid saturation by Roelof D. Schuiling et al.
262. 2011/03/22: PNAS: (ab$) Northern peatland initiation lagged abrupt increases in deglacial atmospheric CH4 by Alberto V. Reyes & Colin A. Cooke
263. 2011/03/22: OSD: A Study of the hydrographic conditions in the Adriatic Sea from numerical modelling and direct observations (2000-2008) by P. Oddo & A. Guarnieri
264. 2011/03/21: TC: Evidence of accelerated englacial warming in the Monte Rosa area, Switzerland/Italy by M. Hoelzle et al.
265. 2011/03/21: TCD: The "tipping" temperature within Subglacial Lake Ellsworth, West Antarctica and its implications for lake access by M. Thoma et al.
266. 2011/03/21: Nature:NanoTech: (ab$) Three-dimensional bicontinuous ultrafast-charge and -discharge bulk battery electrodes by Huigang Zhang et al.
267. 2011/03/21: AGWObserver: New research from last week 11/2011

     And other significant documents:

268. 2011/03/23: FAO: [link to 2.2 meg pdf] Global wheat production to increase in 2011 -- Cereal import bill in poor food-deficit countries rising due to higher international prices
269. 2011/03/22: UNEP:ReliefWeb: [link to 6.9 meg pdf] Water Issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Challenges and Opportunities - Technical Report
270. 2011/03/: BIS: [many pdfs] Global Food and Farming Futures

     As for miscellaneous science:

271. 2011/03/22: Eureka: Report uncovers key trends in water resources research -- Global water research grows nearly 30 percent annually during past decade
272. 2011/03/20: ERabett: At What Distance?

     More DIY science:

273. 2011/03/22: CC&G: Comparison of UAH and GISS Time Series with Common Baseline

     Regarding Lonnie Thompson:

274. 2011/03/10: OhioStateAlumni: Climate change: Clear and present danger
     Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson says his latest paper on global climate change was anything but groundbreaking. "There was nothing in that paper - that I have not already said a thousand times in talks and lectures across the country and around the world," Thompson said. "It wasn't about the analysis of a new ice core or some new findings about ancient climate." "I just wanted to put all the facts and arguments down in one place so that anyone would be able to go and look at the evidence and understand. I think it amounts to a good assessment of where we are in understanding the changing climate."
275. 2011/03/22: ClimateP: Lonnie Thompson stands behind warning: "Virtually all [climatologists] are now convinced that global warming poses a clear and present danger to civilization"

     Wegman, again:

276. 2011/03/26: DeepClimate: Wegman and Said 2011: Dubious Scholarship in Full Colour, part 1
277. 2011/03/26: CCP: New plagiarism by Wegman (of George Mason University) and Said...

     There is a steady dribble of 2012 Rio Conference news releases:

278. 2011/03/24: Grist: RIO+20: Toward a new green economy -- or a green-washed old economy?

     And on the carbon trading front:

279. 2011/03/25: PlanetArk: Kenya Opens Africa's First Carbon Exchange

     The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

280. 2011/03/22: NYT:CW: British Columbia Survives 3 Years and $848 Million Worth of Carbon Taxes

     As for GW, energy & water security:

281. 2011/03/23: CCP: Adam B. Siegel: Defense, National Security and Climate Change
282. 2011/03/22: Telegraph(UK):JW: A global energy war looms

     The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world:

283. 2011/03/22: CBC: Darlington nuclear hearing protesters arrested -- Environmentalists had chained themselves inside meeting room

     What are the activists up to?

284. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: How [Alec Loorz] One Kid is Combating Climate Change
285. 2011/03/26: EarthTimes: Germany's anti-nuclear movement demonstrates for power closures

     Polls! We have polls!

286. 2011/03/21: Guardian(UK): Majority of UK public mistrusts corporate carbon claims, poll finds
287. 2011/03/22: PlanetArk: Most French Want To Keep Nuclear Power: Poll
288. 2011/03/22: BBC: UK nuclear support partially survives Japan crisis
     More Britons support the building of new nuclear power stations than oppose it, despite the crisis at Japan's Fukushima plant, an opinion poll says. But almost a half say they are worried about the safety of nuclear plants. And 75% cite energy efficiency or renewables as their priority for investment, against 9% for nuclear. The survey, commissioned by Friends of the Earth from GfK NOP, polled 1,000 people by phone over the weekend, a week after Japan's crisis began.
289. 2011/03/20: DeSmogBlog: Big Differences In Public Opinion of Climate Change In Canada And The U.S.

     Regarding Water Politics and Business:

290. 2011/03/24: AlterNet: Using Less Water Is Better for San Francisco
291. 2011/03/23: TreeHugger: Water Woes Unsolved 11 Years After People's 'Triumph' Over Privatization in Cochabamba, Bolivia
292. 2011/03/23: CCurrents: Rain Water Harvesting
293. 2011/03/21: JFleck: Never Mind -- About that whole Colorado River shortage thing? Chill.
294. 2011/03/22: TreeHugger: Solar-Powered Desalination Plant Fits on Shipping Container for Disaster Relief
295. 2011/03/22: EarthTimes:Activists join forces against Laos' Xayaburi Dam plan
     Bangkok - A group of 263 non-governmental organizations from 51 countries has called on Laos to cancel its proposed hydropower dam project on the Mekong River in Xayaburi province, representatives of the group said Tuesday. The coalition of environmentalists and civil rights groups sent a letter to Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong Monday urging him to shelve the Xayaburi Dam project at the upcoming meeting of the Mekong River Commission, scheduled for 25-26 March in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
296. 2011/03/21: PlanetArk: "Hydro-Diplomacy" Needed To Avert Arab Water Wars

     And on the American political front:

297. 2011/03/25: MTobis: FOIA and Fishing Expeditions Revisited
298. 2011/03/22: RRapier: Clarifying Misconceptions on Taxpayer-Subsidized Ethanol Exports
299. 2011/03/25: AlterNet: The Biggest Threat Facing the Country Today Is Fast Creeping Ignorance
300. 2011/03/22: GreenGrok: Bob Inglis, A Conservative Republican Speaks on Climate
301. 2011/03/25: Grist: Giving clean energy developers cash works better than tax credits, stupid US policy notwithstanding
302. 2011/03/25: Grist: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ruins everything, including wind power
303. 2011/03/25: DM:80B: The Little-Known 2007 Energy Law That May Have a Big Effect on Oil Consumption
304. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: Do Americans Pay Too Little For Gas?
305. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: 25 U.S. Mayors Speak Out Against [Keystone XL] Tar Sands Pipeline
306. 2011/03/24: KPLU: Clash over changes to renewable energy law
     An effort in Olympia to broaden Washington's renewable energy law is running into opposition. Green energy groups say the proposed change would weaken the voter-approved Initiative 937. Initiative 937 requires most electrical utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2020. That includes solar, wind, geo-thermal; the kinds of green energy you'd expect. Now, a new bill would allow the power that pulp mills create by burning liquid waste to count toward that renewable energy goal.
307. 2011/03/24: CDreams: 'Drill Here, Drill Now, Drill Everywhere' and Other Nonsense
308. 2011/03/24: AutoBG: Three states considering taxing electric cars to compensate for lost gas taxes
309. 2011/03/23: Missoulian: Exxon submits Idaho plan to move half-size megaloads on U.S. 95, I-90
310. 2011/03/23: AlterNet: Christian Intruders: New Law Will Force Women to Listen to Religious Lectures Before Getting an Abortion
311. 2011/03/21: AlterNet: Big Ag Wants To Make It a Crime to Expose Animal Abuse at Factory Farms
312. 2011/03/22: Grist: San Francisco mayor calls for city to go 100% renewable by 2020
313. 2011/03/23: CSW: In Texas field hearing, Congressional subcommittee will attack EPA even as the state faces another year of devastating drought
314. 2011/03/23: DeSmogBlog: Texas Railroad Commission Defies EPA and Sides with Gas Company Accused of Water Contamination
315. 2011/03/23: LA Times: California's bid to curb global warming could soon get back on track
     California air regulators must conduct a new environmental review before a judge will green-light its cap-and-trade pollution program, attorneys say. A final order is expected in about a week. California's effort to curb global warming, which was put on hold by a court decision, will be able to proceed on schedule once officials conduct a new environmental review, according to attorneys analyzing the case. A San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled that the California Air Resources Board failed to properly evaluate alternatives to the so-called cap-and-trade program, which would allow industries to purchase pollution allowances rather than cut their own carbon emissions. The court said that measures such as a carbon tax or direct regulation of greenhouse gases were not given enough consideration.
316. 2011/03/22: ACLU: South Dakota Governor Signs Law Creating Unprecedented Obstacles For Women's Health
     ACLU And Planned Parenthood To Challenge Law That Creates Barriers To Abortion Care And Endangers Abortion Providers
317. 2011/03/21: Grist: New York's bike lanes are 'homegrown terrorism,' say red-faced opponents
318. 2011/03/21: EarthTimes: Legislators question safety of California's nuclear power plants

     The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:

319. 2011/03/25: HuffPo: Investigation Of Dolphin Deaths In Gulf Kept Confidential By U.S. Government
320. 2011/03/27: NakedCapitalism: Guest Post: On the Government Cover-Up of Gulf Dolphin Deaths
321. 2011/03/25: AutoBG: U.S. approves Exxon Mobil's request for deepwater drill in Gulf
322. 2011/03/24: Grist: Oil company 'fesses up, feigns surprise about [gulf] spill
323. 2011/03/24: DeSmogBlog: Remember That Oil in the Gulf of Mexico? It's Still There
324. 2011/03/24: OilChange: Safety of Blow-Out Preventers "Just Hot Air"
325. 2011/03/23: CBC: Faulty pipe blamed in BP oil disaster report -- Blowout preventer and trapped pipe blamed
326. 2011/03/23: TreeHugger: Another Oil Spill Hits the Gulf of Mexico
327. 2011/03/23: AutoBG: Shell gets approval to drill three deepwater wells in Gulf of Mexico
328. 2011/03/19: ZeroHedge: Possible New Oil Spill 100 By 10 Miles Reported in Gulf Of Mexico (Update: Spill Photos)

     Further on King Canute:

329. 2011/03/24: ClimateSight: Legislating Scientific Truth

     Here's a touch of irony for you:

330. 2011/03/23: ClimateP: MIT's David Koch building gets energy upgrade thanks to RGGI, the climate program he is trying to destroy

     Here's a scary poll result:

331. 2011/03/21: WtD: Army of darkness: 33% of Americans think the sun goes around the earth

     The Obama chatter is nonstop:

332. 2011/03/26: ClimateP: Why are Obama and Salazar pushing a massive expansion of coal production?
333. 2011/03/24: CDreams: Obama Loves Nukes
334. 2011/03/23: Sightline: Winning the Future By Destroying It -- The coal hard facts about Obama's energy leadership
335. 2011/03/21: AutoBG: President Obama highlights ethanol ties during Brazil trip

     The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

336. 2011/03/25: ClimateP: Save the EPA. Save our kids.
337. 2011/03/26: DeSmogBlog: EPA Promotes Coal Ash Without Considering Risks
338. 2011/03/25: CCP: Cutting Black Carbon Provides Fast Benefits for Climate, Health. Congressionally mandated EPA study shows "win-win" potential
339. 2011/03/21: GreenGrok: New EPA Regulations, Cancer and the Number 3
     Surprise! The utility industry is crying foul over the Environmental Protection Agency's new emissions regulations.
340. 2011/03/25: Grist: Forward-looking power utilities support EPA air toxics rule
341. 03/24: Grist: Obama administration can't wait to sell China all the coal it can burn
342. 2011/03/23: SciNews: Wanted: Out-of-the-Box Ideas on Clean Energy From Postdocs
343. 2011/03/23: Grist: The change King Coal has been waiting for -- Obama administration announces massive coal mining expansion
344. 2011/03/22: Cryptome: Texas Poly-generation Coal Gasification Project
345. 2011/03/21: AutoBG: DOE to award $12M for development of low-cost hydrogen storage tanks

     As for what is going on in Congress:

346. 2011/03/25: Grist: Minn. state Rep. Mike Beard (R-Minn) prepares to devastate Twin Cities transit, economy, residents
347. 2011/03/25: ClimateP: Senate Dems decry plans to gut [CFTC] oil speculation police
348. 2011/03/24: ClimateP: NOAA says GOP's proposed satellite funding cuts could halve accuracy of precipitation forecasts
349. 2011/03/24: Grist: Congress is making ignoring science a habit
350. 2011/03/23: TruthOut: Buried Provision in House GOP Bill Would Cut Off Food Stamps to Entire Families if One Member Strikes
351. 2011/03/23: ClimateP: Sen. Bingaman tells the truth about gasoline prices: "We become less vulnerable by using less oil"
352. 2011/03/23: Grist: Bingaman tries to make policy out of Obama's hopey-changey Clean Energy Standard
353. 2011/03/22: AlterNet: 3/4ths of Senate GOP Doesn't Believe in Science -- When Did Republicans Go Completely Off the Deep End?
354. 2011/03/22: ClimateP: As food prices skyrocket, House committee calls for cutting food stamps instead of agriculture subsidies
355. 2011/03/22: Grist: [Senator Jeff] Bingaman (D-N.M.) tells the truth about gas prices, is lonely in doing so
356. 2011/03/21: CCP: Robert Benson: An Anti-Science Mania Takes over GOP
357. 2011/03/21: ClimateP: Markey: GOP picks risky nukes instead of safe, clean renewable energy that never runs out
358. 2011/03/21: ClimateP: Starving the Watchdogs
359. 2011/03/21: ClimateP: Rep. Steve King not in favor of restoring tsunami funding, warns against "over-reacting"
360. 2011/03/22: TreeHugger: World's Poor Nations Plan On Combatting Climate Change, While Congress Denies It's Happening

     What are the lobbyists pushing?

361. 2011/03/22: AlterNet: Why the Chamber of Commerce Has Been Wrong on All the Issues -- For 99 Years and Counting [McKibben]
     Though the Chamber claims to represent all of American business, their constituency is really that handful of huge dinosaur companies that would rather lobby than adapt.
362. 2011/03/24: ClimateP: Richard Clarke says U.S. Chamber committed a felony by cyber-targeting political opponents
363. 2011/03/25: AutoBG: Trade groups call on EPA to mandate continued availability of E10
364. 2011/03/21: DeSmogBlog: Gas Industry Working Overtime to Smother Revived FRAC Act Efforts To Rein In Hydraulic Fracturing
     Last week, US Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced legislation to the Senate that would close the oversight gap that the gas industry has taken full advantage of since 2005. The "Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act," commonly known as the FRAC Act, would close the Halliburton Loophole in Dick Cheney's infamous 2005 Energy Policy Act, which exempted hydraulic fracturing from the auspices of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

While in the UK:

365. 2011/03/24: Guardian(UK): George Osborne's budget is a betrayal of our environment
366. 2011/03/24: Guardian(UK): Budget 2011: Carbon tax is only green from a distance
367. 2011/03/23: Guardian(UK): Budget 2011: Green measures at a glance
     From the green investment bank to a carbon floor price - here are the environmental announcements made by the chancellor
368. 2011/03/23: Guardian(UK): Budget 2011: Zero carbon homes plan 'watered down'
369. 2011/03/23: OilChange: UK Gov Drops Consumer Levy on [electricity for] CCS
370. 2011/03/23: BBC: [UK] Budget paints in green and brown
     A minimum price for carbon and more cash for the Green Investment Bank (GIB) are among the Budget's tools to encourage a UK green energy expansion.
371. 2011/03/21: Guardian(UK): Is 'Climate Week' inspirational or hypocritical?

     And in Europe:

372. 2011/03/25: DerSpiegel: Is Germany Prepared? German Nuclear Plants Not Immune to Security Risks
373. 2011/03/25: DerSpiegel: Nuclear Moratorium 'Overly Hasty' -- Helmut Kohl Weighs in on Reactor Debate
374. 2011/03/24: DerSpiegel: Nuclear Moratorium a Campaign Tactic -- Merkel Cabinet Colleague Spills the Atomic Beans
     Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle has said that the snap decision to temporarily shut down seven nuclear reactors in Germany in the wake of the disaster in Fukushima was motivated by campaign tactics ahead of state elections this weekend. The claim threatens to rob Chancellor Merkel of what little credibility she had left.
375. 2011/03/23: DerSpiegel: Winds of Change -- Will Nuke Phase-Out Make Offshore Farms Attractive?
     Sudden fears about nuclear power are causing Germany's government to hasten efforts toward green energy. An unpublished plan calls for a major boost in support for offshore wind farms, but the plan's financing arrangement would mean that any profits enjoyed by companies and banks would come at consumers' expense.
376. 2011/03/25: PlanetArk: German Minister Says Nuclear U-Turn "not Rational": Report
377. 2011/03/24: Grist: Germany continues breaking clean energy records
378. 2011/03/24: EurActiv: Poland considers nuclear poll
     Poland may hold a national referendum on the centre-right government's plans to build a nuclear power plant in the heavily coal-dependent country, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on 23 March.
379. 2011/03/24: EurActiv: Energy savings could mothball '98 nuclear reactors'
     If the EU's 2009 Eco-design Directive were to be implemented fully, the end-use energy savings by 2020 could alleviate the need for another 98 Fukushima-sized nuclear reactors, according to calculations by the European Environmental Citizens' Organisation for Standardisation (ECOS).
380. 2011/03/23: CBC: Germany weaning itself from nuclear power
381. 2011/03/23: EurActiv: Brussels wants no oil-fuelled cars in cities by 2050
     The European Commission plans to step up its battle against oil- and gas-fuelled cars, and is drawing up strict targets to halve their urban usage by 2030 and "phase them out by 2050," according to an EU road map on transport to be published on Monday (28 March) and seen by EurActiv.
382. 2011/03/21: DerSpiegel: Out of Control -- Merkel Gambles Credibility with Nuclear U-Turn
     In the aftermath of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made an astounding political U-turn. She went from being an enthusiastic supporter of nuclear energy to arguing for phasing it out as soon as possible. Many feel her new course is not credible, and it is legally, financially and politically risky.
383. 2011/03/22: PlanetArk: German Nuclear Firms May Stop Green Payments: Report
384. 2011/03/21: EarthTimes: Spain to propose alternative energy plan for Europe

     Meanwhile in Australia:

385. 2011/03/26: BBC: BHP Billiton to invest $9.5bn in Australian projects
     BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, has said it will expand its Australian iron ore and coal mining projects, as it tries keep up with rising demand in Asia.
386. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au): Hamilton farmer and chairman of the Climate Institute, Mark Wootton, says carbon farming legislation will help locals adapt to a future low-carbon economy
387. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au): Wind sickness doctor fronts Senate inquiry
     A doctor who pioneered a controversial study into what she calls "wind turbine syndrome" has told a Senate inquiry that residents living near wind farms will get sick. Dr Nina Pierpont told the first day of the inquiry into the social and economic impacts of wind farms that illnesses have been documented, and Australia should take note. The American paediatrician says she has clinical evidence that low frequency noise and infrasound from turbines disturbs the body's organs. But the industry has been quick to question Dr Pierpont's findings, and the Federal Government's health advisory body says there is no such conclusion.
388. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au): Carbon price pivotal to wind farm plan
     A company planning to build a wind farm near Whyalla says it will not go ahead unless a price is put on carbon. Wind Energy Solutions wants to build a 120-megawatt wind farm at Lincoln Gap.
389. 2011/03/24: ABC(Au): $12b of government carbon initiatives failed: report
     A new report has found more than $12 billion worth of state and federal government climate programs have failed to adequately cut carbon emissions. Melbourne-based think tank the Grattan Institute has examined more than 300 carbon programs spanning different governments over the past 15 years and found the schemes have not lived up to their promises. The programs studied included the Federal Government's axed home insulation scheme, as well as its clean coal and solar flagships program. The institute found grants, rebates, clean coal and solar programs cut only 4 million tonnes of carbon emissions last year. The report found direct action schemes such as tree planting had little effect, but it praised the tightening of energy efficiency standards for cutting 12 million tonnes of emissions. Professor John Daley says the most inefficient were government grant tendering programs. He says governments often bring in politically popular schemes that are inefficient in terms of carbon reduction.
390. 2011/03/24: ABC(Au): Greens MP Mark Parnell has introduced a bill to the South Australian Parliament which he says would force authorities to be more open with the public about pollution
391. 2011/03/24: ABC(Au): Greens candidate backs wind power
     The Greens candidate for Murray Darling says renewable energy can provide a revenue stream for people in country areas. Heidi Hendry has welcomed a statement from the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard that wind is the energy of the future.
392. 2011/03/24: Deltoid: [Deputy leader of the Australian Opposition] Julie Bishop misrepresents Joanne Simpson
393. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): Parliament goes deeper and deeper into denial -- whether the term "denier" was unparliamentary
394. 2011/03/22: ABC(Au): The Wilderness Society says the rapid spread of coal seam gas (CSG) exploration into the Lake Eyre Basin in Queensland poses a threat to one of Australia's natural wonders
395. 2011/03/22: ABC(Au): Government approves massive coal mine project
     The Federal Government has given the go-ahead to what could be the biggest coal mine in the Southern Hemisphere. Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has imposed strict conditions on Xstrata Coal's proposed mine at Wandoan on Queensland's Western Darling Downs. The mine would produce 30-million tonnes a year but has the potential to expand to 100-million tonnes a year, making it the largest in the Southern Hemisphere
396. 2011/03/22: ABC(Au): The South Australian Government will draft a Climate Change Adaptation Framework after holding a series of forums about the issue
397. 2011/03/21: ABC(Au): Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy is calling for talks with wind energy providers threatening to pull out of Victoria
398. 2011/03/21: ABC(Au): The environment protection regulator in New South Wales has told the Department of Industry it needs more information to properly assess applications for coal seam gas exploration.

     The Australian carbon battle has gone from knock down drag'em out to downright vicious:

399. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au):TDU: Make no mistake: this is a battle to the death
     So now we're down to it.
     The carbon tax debate has become a mere cipher in the titanic struggle between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott as they fight to tear each other's innards out. The personal has become the political.
     The ferocity of Thursday's debate in the Parliament was as willing as anything I've seen in the 26 years I've been covering Federal politics. Abbott and Gillard fought without quarter. It is now clear that the loser of this battle will also lose their leadership or in the case of Gillard, the Prime Ministership. It is simply now that important.
     And the reason for that importance is that the leaders themselves have made it so. The carbon tax will destroy one or the other.
400. 2011/03/24: ABC(Au):TDU: We deserve better than this ugliness
401. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au):TDU: A day out with the extremists
402. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au):TDU: How Julia Gillard could improve the carbon tax by John Humphreys
403. 2011/03/24: ABC(Au): Abbott and Gillard up insult stakes
     Question Time degenerated into a slanging match amid rowdy scenes today as the Opposition Leader and Prime Minister aimed personal barbs at each other. Tony Abbott painted Julia Gillard as a liar and the Prime Minister told Parliament her opponent was a "hollow, bitter man". Australian National University students in the public gallery were removed for blowing whistles and causing general uproar as Mr Abbott began his attack.
404. 2011/03/24: ClimateP: Aussie PM Gillard gives climate speech Obama won't
     "A price on carbon is the cheapest way to drive investment and jobs"
405. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): Gillard, Abbott trade blows over carbon tax
     A question from Opposition Leader Tony Abbott attracted rare applause from the public gallery during today's Question Time, leading to a robust exchange on the floor of Parliament.
406. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): Hundreds of people have rallied on the steps of the Victorian Parliament, protesting against the planned price on carbon
407. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): Greens leader Bob Brown says he hopes the Opposition Leader apologises to the Prime Minister for speaking at an anti-carbon tax rally in front of "offensive banners"
408. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): The Federal Government's climate change adviser, Professor Ross Garnaut, says putting a price on carbon will be a "test of Australia's democracy"
409. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): Abbott addresses anti-carbon tax rally
410. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): PM denies business left out of carbon tax debate
411. 2011/03/23: ABC(Au): Carbon tax fears for Pt Augusta [coal-fired] power stations
     Independent Senator Nick Xenophon fears Port Augusta's power stations, which provide 40 per cent of South Australia's power, could be forced to close.
412. 2011/03/23: BBC: Rallies have taken place in Australia in protest at plans by the Labor government to bring in a carbon tax
413. 2011/03/22: ABC(Au): Hockey pledges to repeal 'phantom tax cuts'
     Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says the Coalition will repeal any tax cuts brought in as compensation for the carbon tax if it is elected to government.
414. 2011/03/22: ABC(Au): Greens Leader Bob Brown says he did not force Prime Minister Julia Gillard to support a carbon tax against her will
415. 2011/03/22: ABC(Au): Pyne objects to PM's 'holocaust allusion'
     The spectre of the holocaust was raised in a spiteful Question Time in Federal Parliament, with the Opposition likening the phrase "climate change denier" to the Nazi genocide of Jews.
416. 2011/03/21: ABC(Au): The WA Farmers Federation has thrown its support behind the Federal Government's carbon tax
417. 2011/03/21: ABC(Au): The debate on a carbon price has shifted to compensation, with the Federal Government hinting at tax cuts and pension rises
418. 2011/03/21: ABC(Au): Carbon tax dominates heated Question Time
     The Federal Government has ramped up its efforts to sell the carbon tax, using Question Time to argue the economic benefits and to paint the Opposition as climate change deniers.

And in the Indian subcontinent:

419. 2011/03/22: CCurrents: Policies For Privates, Policing For People

     While in China:

420. 2011/03/25: IrishTimes: Red China turns green
     Three decades of economic growth have played havoc with China's environment, but its new five-year plan is designed to put that right It's probably the greenest five-year plan in China's history. The blueprint document aims to reduce the blind rush for economic growth at any cost and to introduce greater consideration for environmental concerns and better use of natural resources. China's annual parliament, the National People's Congress, gave enthusiastic backing to the 12th five-year plan, which appears to confirm -- on paper at least -- the Chinese government's realisation that three decades of rapid economic growth have played havoc with the country's environment.

In Canada, the Harper minority government lost a confidence vote. The election is May 2:

421. 2011/03/21: TStar: Committee finds Harper government in contempt
422. 2011/03/25: CBC: Election looms as government falls
423. 2011/03/26: CBC: Canadians to go to polls on May 2
424. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: Canadian Government Falls; What Role Will Environment Play In Election?
425. 2011/03/27: BCLSB: The Hit List -- a list of organizations that the Harper government has put the boots to

     Before the government fell, they introduced a budget:

426. 2011/03/21: PI:B: Budget 2011: A checklist for clean energy success
427. 2011/03/22: PI: Pembina reacts to 2011 federal budget -- Budget ignores opportunities to create new jobs and compete in clean energy economy
428. 2011/03/23: Straight: Canada lagging behind on renewable energy spending, environmental groups say
     Incentives for renewable energy were discontinued in the 2011 federal budget
429. 2011/03/22: CleanBreak: Clean energy highlights of federal budget 2011
430. 2011/03/22: G&M: Oil sands tax incentives targeted
     The Harper government is aiming to knock down a pair of tax incentives designed to spur spending in the oil sands, a sector that once relied on government support but is now awash in corporate investment. The changes are a sign of the dramatic change in prospects for northeastern Alberta's great wealth of oil sands, which has evolved from a challenging science project to one of the country's most vibrant economic drivers.

The G20 controversy lingers:

431. 2011/03/24: CBC: G20 crossbow case returns to court
     The lawyer representing a man charged with possessing a crossbow during the G20 summit said Thursday his client's constitutional rights were violated.

A court ruling this week coupled with a pre-election writ federal decision has the potential to inflame smoldering Quebec vs Newfoundland resentments:

432. 2011/03/25: CBC: Métis hydro injunction bid rejected
     A judge has rejected a Métis group's application to halt environmental hearings into Labrador's massive Lower Churchill hydroelectric project. The NunatuKavut Community Council, formerly known as the Labrador Métis Nation, had wanted to halt the hearings, which have already begun in Labrador communities. But Justice Garrett Handrigan of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador turned down the application Thursday, rejecting NunatuKavut's requests to stop the hearings.
433. 2011/03/24: CBC: Quebec oil deal could fuel dispute with N.L. -- N.L. also lays claim to deposit that straddles subsea boundary with Quebec
     Quebec and the federal government have struck a deal on oil and gas development in the disputed Old Harry area of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It's expected both governments will sign a deal Thursday that would give Quebec royalties from the area. The deposit overlaps the sub-sea boundary between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. The two provinces have not agreed on the actual boundary.
434. 2011/03/23: G&M: Tories, Quebec ink oil exploration deal
     The Conservatives are getting rid of a long-standing irritant with the Quebec government just days before an expected election call, signing a deal that opens the door to oil exploration in the St. Lawrence and fuels hopes for economic development in poor parts of the province. The agreement to be unveiled on Thursday in Gatineau, Que., will lead to exploration for billions of barrels of oil and natural gas in the Old Harry field in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which straddles Quebec's boundary with Newfoundland.

The battle over the Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines rages on:

435. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: 25 U.S. Mayors Speak Out Against [Keystone XL] Tar Sands Pipeline
436. 2011/03/22: CBC: B.C. pipeline opponents target moneylenders
     First Nations and environmental groups are targeting potential financial backers in their latest attempt to stop the Northern Gateway Pipeline project that would deliver oil from Alberta to tankers on the B.C. coast. A few dozen protesters waved placards, banged drums and chanted outside a Bank of Montreal shareholders meeting at a Vancouver hotel on Tuesday. Maxim Winther, with the Rainforest Action Network, said they're concerned about BMO's environmental policies and its relationship with Enbridge Inc., the company planning to build the pipeline through B.C.

A review of Darlington nuclear building plans was scheduled before Fukushima:

437. 2011/03/22: CBC: Darlington nuclear review will continue -- Enviornmental groups' move to suspend hearings turned down

     The privatization of AECL is still in the air:

438. 2011/03/22: PostMedia: AECL selloff poses 'unknown risks' -- Competent staff may be lost
     The Conservative government's decision to sell off its nuclear agency may put Canada and other countries at risk, the association representing its engineers and scientists warned Monday.

Remember those megaloads bound for the tar sands?:

439. 2011/03/23: Missoulian: Exxon submits Idaho plan to move half-size megaloads on U.S. 95, I-90
440. 2011/03/20: Oregonian: Native Americans gather in Portland to protest oil sands shipments

     With the Liberals choosing Clark and the NDP yet to decide, how long until the election?

441. 2011/03/21: G&M: B.C.'s NDP leadership race heats up with first official candidate debate
     [...]
     The NDP is to pick a new leader on April 17 to succeed Carole James, who resigned after a caucus revolt.
442. 2011/03/26: Rabble: An open letter to B.C. NDP leadership candidates
     [...]
     The pre-eminent issue that must be dealt with now, ahead of all others, is the issue of environmental sustainability. On a scientific level, the problem is not difficult; we know why we have it, and we know what it takes to repair it. On a political level, however, it is a nightmare, which is probably why no one wants to directly confront it and make it a leading plank in their policy.
443. 2011/03/23: BCLocalNews: Opponents keep applying heat to coal
     Numerous organizations are calling on senior government officials for a rigorous environmental assessment of the proposed Raven underground coal mine in Baynes Sound, complete with a broad-based public consultation process. Their demand was prompted by the release of the Application Information Requirements (AIR) -- a major part of Compliance Energy's bid to establish coal mining operations on Vancouver Island.
444. 2011/03/22: NYT:CW: British Columbia Survives 3 Years and $848 Million Worth of Carbon Taxes
445. 2011/03/21: CBC: Vancouver named top climate change fighter

     Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

446. 2011/03/24: PI:B: New oilsands reclamation program more transparent, but still financially risky
447. 2011/03/24: PI: Pembina Reacts to Lower Athabasca Water Quality Monitoring Plan
448. 2011/03/25: Tyee: Scandal Rocks Key Player in Canada's Oil Sands PR Push
     Bruce Carson was the 'grey-haired sage' linking PM Harper to oil lobby. Now he's accused of influence peddling for a young former prostitute.
449. 2011/03/25: TSun: Alberta urges EU not to blacklist the tarsands
450. 2011/03/24: DeSmogBlog: Koch Brothers Set Up Shop in Tar Sands Territory
451. 2011/03/22: PolicyInnovations: There's No Such Thing as Ethical Oil (or Nuclear Power) -- Canada is digging itself a dirty energy destiny in the Athabasca oil sands.
452. 2011/03/23: DeSmogBlog: Waterless Tar Sands Extraction Misses the Point
453. 2011/03/23: Tyee: Canadian Officials 'Aggressive' in Selling Congress on Oil Sands -- Albertan and Canadian government reps spin hard to US lawmakers say Capitol Hill insiders
454. 2011/03/22: AlterNet: Kochs Profit from Canadian Eco-Nightmare
455. 2011/03/21: OilChange: Two Disasters, One Conflict, One Bad Result
456. 2011/03/21: PostMedia: Method found for waterless oilsands extraction
     A new oil extraction method that could be used in Alberta's oilsands and would eliminate the need for the environmentally hazardous tailings ponds has been developed by U.S. researchers. Scientists at Penn State University say their closed system, using ionic liquids - salt in a liquid state - to separate the heavy, viscous oil found in Western Canada from sand, uses less energy than current systems and does not create toxic waste water. "Our process could potentially get rid of those waste-water ponds, which can be dangerous to the environment, especially the wildlife in the area," said Paul Painter, the head of the project and a professor of polymer science.

You get that? The tarsands are being called sustainable...:

457. 2011/03/21: PostMedia: Canada envisioned as energy superpower
     Growing world demand for sustainable energy puts a stable producer of oil and gas like Canada in an ideal position to become a global energy superpower -if the country can embrace the right national strategy to make it happen, according to [Lorraine Mitchelmore] the head of Shell Canada.

Also in Alberta:

458. 2011/03/24: PI: Letter of objection to a coal-fired generation plant proposed by Maxim Power
459. 2011/03/24: PI: Alberta must hold public hearing before approving new coal-fired power plant
460. 2011/03/21: CBC: Oil drilling in Alberta has strong start to year
     Oil and gas drilling in Alberta this year had its strongest start in four years, according to data compiled by the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors. The first three months of the year are the busiest time for conventional oil and gas exploration in Alberta, when the ground is frozen and it is easy to move rigs and heavy equipment over open ground. Through the first twelve weeks of 2011, there were 400 drilling rigs active on average. That was up from approximately 300 last year and only 220 in 2009. In the most recent reading -- the week of March 15 -- there were of 395 drilling rigs active out of a total fleet of 576.

In Saskatchewan the question is still Potash?

461. 2011/03/21: BuckDog: [Potash] Royalty Structure Hurting Saskatchewan

     In Manitoba, people have flooding on their minds:

462. CBC Manitoba - Flood 2011
463. NOAAWatch: Floods Monitor
464. 2011/03/25: Manitoba: March - 2011 Spring Flood Outlook for Manitoba
465. 2011/03/25: CBC: Man. flood outlook worsens slightly -- Record flooding forecast for North Dakota, struck by major storm on Tuesday
466. 2011/03/25: CBC: Winnipeg ready with 1.5 million sandbags
467. 2011/03/26: NWS:AHPS: Forecasts for the Red River of the North at Fargo
468. 2011/03/25: NWS: Hydrologic Information Center: US Spring Flood Risk
469. 2011/03/24: CBC: Steinbach [Manitoba] preps for flood evacuees
470. 2011/03/24: Wunderground: Spring snowstorm adds to flooding potential for the Midwest
471. 2011/03/21: CBC: Helicopter team planned for flood rescues
     A select group of firefighters will be ready to take to the air to rescue Manitobans needing help in this spring's expected flood...

In the North:

472. 2011/03/22: CBC: Whitehorse promises more climate-change action

     As for miscellaneous Canadiana:

473. 2011/03/25: G&M: Scientist named to boost Canada's sustainable food production
     A year-long search is over for a sustainable-foods guru fit to initiate research that will transform Canada's food producers into global leaders. Plant and animal scientist Ralph Martin, a Nova Scotia-based academic and director of the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, has been appointed chair of Sustainable Food Production at the University of Guelph, a post backed by a $3-million grant from Loblaw Cos. Ltd.
474. 2011/03/23: BCLocalNews: Energy use re-examination timely by David Suzuki
475. 2011/03/22: OSun: Senate urges feds to beef up Arctic search and rescue

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

476. 2011/03/27: NatureTGB: Shortages of scarce natural resources coming, warn chemists
477. 2011/03/26: MTobis: Sustainability through Chemistry
478. 2011/03/25: EnergyBulletin: Force Multipliers
479. 2011/03/23: EnergyBulletin: A story of choosing to live simply and grow one's own food in rural Japan
480. 2011/03/23: MTobis: The Key Realization
     [...]
     Whenever calculations are reduced to money, long term prudence fails. And this, not the fundamental truth of the Malthusian argument, but its conditional truth in contemporary institutional settings, is what is driving us off the cliff.
     Who speaks for the future?
481. 2011/03/21: DVoice: Powering Down
482. 2011/03/22: EnergyBulletin: Foundation Concepts: Thinking Resilience by William Rees

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

483. 2011/03/24: HuffPo: The Twin Elephants in the Room by Paul and Anne Ehrlich
     The current unrest in the Arab nations has called the world's attention to some of the political and economic consequences of the West's addiction to petroleum. But sadly it hasn't brought back into focus two more fundamental and interrelated problems. The first is the population explosion; the second is the expectation of perpetual growth in per capita consumption, not just for several billion poor people, but for the billion or so who are already rich.
484. 2011/03/23: AlterNet: Christian Intruders: New Law Will Force Women to Listen to Religious Lectures Before Getting an Abortion
485. 2011/03/22: ACLU: South Dakota Governor Signs Law Creating Unprecedented Obstacles For Women's Health
     ACLU And Planned Parenthood To Challenge Law That Creates Barriers To Abortion Care And Endangers Abortion Providers

Apocalypso anyone?

486. 2011/03/25: ABC(Au):TDU: We won't kill the planet, just our world
487. 2011/03/26: CCurrents: Surviving Collapse
488. 2011/03/22: CCurrents: The Great Technological Wall

     As for how the media handles the science of climatology:

489. 2011/03/26: PeakEnergy: A Nice bit of gas-powered churnalism
490. 2011/03/24: BVerheggen: There are at least as many walks as talks
491. 2011/03/24: SkeptiSci: The Washington Times Talks Greenhouse Law by grypo
492. 2011/03/23: AlterNet: The New York Times' $50 Million Paywall Crumbles With Simple Code Exploit
493. 2011/03/22: ClassM: Whale of a whopper
494. 2011/03/22: Deltoid: Media Watch on the unbalanced coverage of climate science on talkback radio
495. 2011/03/21: KSJT: Stilettos and sources: Are the links going where they should?
496. 2011/03/21: KSJT: San Diego Union-Trib, OC Register, etc.: Global warming nothing new. And that's not news either. It's all in the details [hyperthermals]
497. 2011/03/21: ClimateShifts: Accuracy, balance and rigor on talk-back radio -- in the week after hell freezes over?

     Here is something for your library:

498. 2011/03/24: TreeHugger: Is Water The New Oil? Water Matters Explains The Crisis and Solutions (Book Review)
499. 2011/03/22: HotTopic: _Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth_ by Mark Hertsgaard

     And for your film & video enjoyment:

500. 2011/03/23: PSinclair: Solar Cookers for Uganda
501. 2011/03/20: GreenFyre: Potty Training Christopher Monckton

     As for podcasts:

502. 2011/03/21: CCP: The Reality of Climate Change: Interview with Dr. Andrew Dessler

     Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

503. 2011/03/25: TruthOut: Farmers Sue USDA Over Monsanto Alfalfa - Again
     A coalition of farmers and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on March 18 to challenge the agency's recent decision to fully deregulate Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa. This is the second time the USDA has been sued over its approval of Roundup Ready alfalfa, which is genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate glyphosate, a popular herbicide commonly sold under the Monsanto brand name Roundup.
504. 2011/03/23: AutoBG: Oil refiners file lawsuit to overturn EPA's E15 approval for 2001-2006 vehicles
505. 2011/03/22: PlanetArk: Bayer Ordered To Pay $136.8 Million In U.S. Rice Case
     A unit of Germany's Bayer AG has been ordered by a court in Arkansas to pay $136.8 million to Riceland Foods over the contamination of U.S. long grain rice stocks with a genetically modified strain from Bayer that decimated exports more than four years ago. The judgment, handed down by a jury in Stuttgart, Arkansas, includes $125 million in punitive damages to Riceland, a farmers cooperative.
506. 2011/03/21: Mercury: California's global warming law takes a hit
     In a setback that could stall the rollout of California's landmark climate change law, a court in San Francisco has ruled that the state must spend more time studying alternatives to the measure's key feature -- a cap-and-trade program on greenhouse gas emissions -- before it goes into effect Jan. 1. San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith blocked the California Air Resources Board from moving forward with its rules under the law, known as AB 32, until it completes a more thorough environmental analysis. That could take months, putting into question whether the rules will take effect next year as planned.

Among the non-members of Gamblers Anonymous:

507. 2011/03/23: Stoat: Sea ice - and now for something just a tiny bit different

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

508. 2011/03/27: SkeptiSci: A Plan for 100% Energy from Wind, Water, and Solar by 2050 by dana1981
509. 2011/03/25: EnergyBulletin: New record for German renewable energy in 2010
510. 2011/03/25: Grist: Giving clean energy developers cash works better than tax credits, stupid US policy notwithstanding
511. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: Do Americans Pay Too Little For Gas?
512. 2011/03/25: OilDrum: WSJ, Financial Times Raise Issue of [High] Oil Prices Causing Recession
513. 2011/03/25: PeakEnergy: Company studying tidal power in Cook Inlet [Alaska]
514. 2011/03/24: LA Times:GS: Japan's nuclear crisis: An opportunity for geothermal energy?
515. 2011/03/25: SkeptiSci: A Plan for 100% Renewable Energy by 2050 by dana1981
516. 2011/03/24: TreeHugger: 100% Renewable Energy By 2050 Is Possible - Here's How We Can Do It
517. 2011/03/23: ERW: Wind power cheaper than nuclear, says EU climate chief
518. 2011/03/23: PeakEnergy: Rwanda to spend $935 mln on geothermal power
519. 2011/03/23: NBF: Hydroelectric Dam Failures... [list]
520. 2011/03/22: CBC: [WTI] Oil tops $105 on supply questions
521. 2011/03/22: PeakEnergy: Scottish Government gives go ahead to world's largest tidal power project

     Hey! Let's contaminate the aquifer for thousands of years! It'll be a fracking gas!

522. 2011/03/25: DeSmogBlog: Maryland House Votes For Moratorium On Shale Gas Development And Fracking
523. 2011/03/24: NYT: Hydraulic Fracturing Bill Could Force Disclosure
524. 2011/03/21: PolluterWatch: ExxonMobil Refuses to Tell the Fracking Truth
525. 2011/03/21: ClimateP: Drilling down on natural gas fracking concerns
526. 2011/03/21: ABC(Au): The environment protection regulator in New South Wales has told the Department of Industry it needs more information to properly assess applications for coal seam gas exploration.
527. 2011/03/21: DeSmogBlog: Gas Industry Working Overtime to Smother Revived FRAC Act Efforts To Rein In Hydraulic Fracturing
     Last week, US Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced legislation to the Senate that would close the oversight gap that the gas industry has taken full advantage of since 2005. The "Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act," commonly known as the FRAC Act, would close the Halliburton Loophole in Dick Cheney's infamous 2005 Energy Policy Act, which exempted hydraulic fracturing from the auspices of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

The answer my friend...:

528. 2011/03/23: EnergyBulletin: US wind energy installations collapsed in 2010
529. 2011/03/22: CCurrents: Wind: The Center Of The Plan B Economy

     Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

530. 2011/03/25: NBF: Quantum dots could make solar panels more efficient
531. 2011/03/25: NSF: Size Matters: Smaller Particles Could Make Solar Panels More Efficient
     Researchers study quantum dots to increase the amount of electricity solar panels produce
532. 2011/03/22: Grist: Germany's solar panels produce more power than Japan's entire Fukushima complex
533. 2011/03/21: ClimateP: German solar output hit 10.6 GW peak Sunday

     Feed-In-Tariffs are being variously implemented around the world:

534. 2011/03/21: PlanetArk: UK To Cut Support For Large Solar Plants

     On the coal front:

535. 2011/03/24: EnergyBulletin: Nukes are scary, but don't forget about coal

     Biofuel bickering abounds:

536. 2011/03/22: RRapier: Clarifying Misconceptions on Taxpayer-Subsidized Ethanol Exports
537. 2011/03/24: Grist: California going to sh*t...for green electricity
538. 2011/03/23: Eureka: U of Minn. researchers close in on technology for making renewable petroleum
539. 2011/03/22: EurActiv: Test shows E10 increases fuel consumption
     After German drivers expressed fear that the new E10 biofuel could damage car engines, tests conducted by a Finnish automobile magazine show that the biofuel also slightly increases fuel consumption. According to laboratory tests conducted by Tekniikan Maailma, a Finnish magazine, E10 increases fuel consumption by 3% on average compared to an earlier version, 98 E5.
540. 2011/03/21: PlanetArk: Google Backs Biomass Fuel Firm CoolPlanetBiofuels

     The nuclear energy controversy continues:

541. 2011/03/26: PeakEnergy: The Nuclear Breakthrough That Wasn't
542. 2011/03/24: DerSpiegel: 'This Reactor Model Is No Good' -- Documents Show Politburo Skepticism of Chernobyl
     Lies and deception were commonplace in the Soviet nuclear industry. Now Kremlin records which have been obtained by SPIEGEL reveal that Russian experts already had their doubts about the Chernobyl reactor before the 1986 disaster.
543. 2011/03/25: AlterNet: How Nuclear Power's "Peaceful Atom" Became a Serial Killer
544. 2011/03/25: PlanetArk: Closing old Atom Plants Poses Safety Challenge: IAEA
545. 2011/03/24: PlanetArk: Canada Nuclear Plan Gets Environmental OK
546. 2011/03/24: TreeHugger: Radioactive Pollution in Illinois: Honeywell Pleads Guilty, Gets $11.8M Fine
547. 2011/03/22: EurActiv: Stressed-out nuclear plants face uncertain fate
     The future of nuclear reactors which fail the European Commission's promised stress tests is up in the air, after EU energy ministers confirmed yesterday (21 March) that participation in the EU-mandated tests would not be binding, and ultimate responsibility for nuclear policy would remain at national level.

Yes we have peak everything:

548. 2011/03/25: Science: [Letter$] Energy Supplies - Peak Oil Production May Already Be Here by Richard A. Kerr
549. 2011/03/23: CDreams: Peak Water Has Already Come and Gone

     More people are talking about the electrical grid:

550. 2011/03/23: EnergyBulletin: The problems with Smart Grids
551. 2011/03/21: PlanetArk: Germany Sees Need For Huge Push To Widen Power Grid

     And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

552. 2011/03/11: EcoGeek: Samsung Introduces Completely Solar-Powered, Transparent TV
553. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: Samsung Unveils See-Through Solar-Powered TV
554. 2011/03/25: TreeHugger: Philips AmbientLED 12.5 Watts LED Lightbulb (Product Review)
555. 2011/03/25: Eureka: School energy audits find millions in potential energy savings -- Energy audit model developed can apply to other schools [Ontario & effic]
556. 2011/03/21: TechRev: A New Way to Churn Out Cheap LED Lighting
557. 2011/03/21: NBF: LEDs microchip manufacturing methods could slash the cost of lighting from $40 LED bulbs to $5

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

558. 2011/03/25: CleanBreak: Electric car naysayers are sadly misinformed about EV potential
559. 2011/03/23: Grist: The latest battle in the nonexistent 'War on Cars'
560. 2011/03/22: EurActiv: Consumer backing key to electric cars, say motorists
     Europe's leading motoring consumer group argues that muscular public policies are needed if consumers are to switch to electric cars, citing in particular the establishment of infrastructure networks for recharging stations, environmental labelling and tax incentives for green consumption.
561. 2011/03/21: AutoBG: A little history lesson: Electric vehicles and battery swaps in the late 1800s
562. 2011/03/21: AutoBG: Tesla's Musk says capacitors "will supercede" batteries

     As for Energy Storage:

563. 2011/03/21: Nature:NanoTech: (ab$) Three-dimensional bicontinuous ultrafast-charge and -discharge bulk battery electrodes by Huigang Zhang et al.
564. 2011/03/23: SciNow: A Battery That Charges in Seconds
565. 2011/03/24: AutoBG: Quicker than gas? New battery technology could allow electric vehicles to recharge in two minutes
566. 2011/03/22: NBF: New Batteries for electric cars could charge in minutes
567. 2011/03/15: GizMag: New battery technology may allow for complete recharging within minutes
568. 2011/03/22: TCoE: Battery technology
569. 2011/03/20: Eureka: Batteries charge quickly and retain capacity, thanks to new structure

     In the gas and oil biz:

570. 2011/03/21: BBC: Falkland oil well boosts Rockhopper shares
     Shares in Rockhopper Exploration jumped 38% after the British oil company said its oil well in the Falkland Islands is likely to prove commercially viable.
571. 2011/03/21: Guardian(UK): Falklands oil bonanza hopes revived while price climbs again

     Meanwhile in the greenwashing chronicles:

572. 2011/03/24: EurActiv: Exxon's algae biofuel ad banned over 'misleading' claims
     The UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned an algae biofuel TV advert by oil giant ExxonMobil because it overstated the technology's climate change mitigation potential.

Who's fielding the FAQs?

573. 2011/03/25: Guardian(UK): Will climate change cause wars?
574. 2011/03/25: Guardian(UK): Haven't we had 'global cooling' lately?

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

575. 2011/03/25: ClimateP: March 25 News...
576. 2011/03/24: ClimateP: March 24 News...
577. 2011/03/23: ClimateP: March 23 news...
578. 2011/03/22: ClimateP: March 22 News...
579. 2011/03/21: ClimateP: March 21 News...
580. 2011/03/20: ClimateP: March 20 News...

     Other (weekly) lists:

581. 2011/03/24: Grist: A walk through the week's climate news -- The Climate Post: Trace radiation isn't the only global fallout from Fukushima
582. 2011/03/25: RealClimate: Friday round-up

     The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

583. 2011/03/27: CCP: Mark Boslough: Keller's ad hominem hypocrisy
584. 2011/03/27: Guardian(UK): Lord Lawson's 'misleading' climate claims challenged by scientific adviser
585. 2011/03/22: Tyee: The Kochs: Oil Sands Billionaires Bankrolling US Right
     They process about one in four barrels of US-bound Alberta bitumen, and pump millions of dollars into highly conservative, anti-green causes.
586. 2011/03/25: BRitholtz: How To Have A Rational Discussion
587. 2011/03/25: ERabett: Re-Write: Mary Rosh Calling
588. 2011/03/25: Deltoid: John Lott's Mysteriously Changing Blog Post
589. 2011/03/25: ERabett: Physics Follies
590. 2011/03/25: DeSmogBlog: Truth and the Oped Pages
591. 2011/03/24: DeSmogBlog: Koch Brothers Set Up Shop in Tar Sands Territory
592. 2011/03/23: CCP: John Abraham: Jason Lewis misled readers on global warming
593. 2011/03/21: PolluterWatch: ExxonMobil Refuses to Tell the Fracking Truth
594. 2011/03/22: DeSmogBlog: PolluterWatch Memo to Koch PR Team: Ever Consider Making Your Astroturf A Little Less Obvious?
595. 2011/03/22: AlterNet: Kochs Profit from Canadian Eco-Nightmare
596. 2011/03/21: JQuiggin: The chain of scientific authority
597. 2011/03/20: Deltoid: Ian Enting on Climate science and public debate

     As for climate miscellanea:

598. 2011/03/26: CBC:Q&Q: Climate Change in the Deep Future
599. 2011/03/25: Maribo: Climate change hits the big time [Nigerian fraud]
600. 2011/03/25: JQuiggin: Weight loss and climate change
601. 2011/03/24: CitizensChallenge: USA Navy's Chief Oceanographer David Titley
602. 2011/03/23: JEB: Water water everywhere

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

603. World Meteorological Day 2011
604. CBC Manitoba - Flood 2011
605. NOAAWatch: Floods Monitor
606. EcoGeek
607. ASA:JEQ: Journal of Environmental Quality
608. TBAS: The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
609. ERW: Environmental Research Web - News
610. USNO: Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
611. PolluterWatch -- Holding Polluters Accountable
612. BEST: Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
613. Technology Review: Energy Channel
614. Wiki: Jet Stream
615. Wiki: Arctic methane release
616. NCM: Nierenberg's Climate Musings
617. CleanTechnica - Technology Inspired By Nature
618. Wiki: Geothermal heat pump
619. GG&G: Greed, Green and Grains (Economics, Environment and Agriculture)

     ---

     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(which includes some quotations), 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.

     I notice moyhu has set up a monster index to old AWoGWN on AFTIC.

     ---

     "There is now a very clear pattern in the scientific evidence documenting that the earth is warming, that warming is due largely to human activity, that warming is causing important changes in climate, and that rapid and potentially catastrophic changes in the near future are very possible." -Lonnie Thompson

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