Another week of GW News, April 24, 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

April 24, 2011

• Chuckles, COP17+, Fukushima Heroes, F. News, Nuclear Policy, F. Talk
• Chernobyl & TMI, Power Shift, Earth Day, Nisbet, Kang
• GFIs, Bolivia, Thermodynamics, EWS, Cook, Post CRU
• Melting Arctic, Polar Bears, Eroding Coasts, Methane, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Food Prices, Food Riots, Land Grabs, GMOs, Food Production
• Hurricanes, GHGs, Temperatures, Paleoclimate, Extinctions
• Impacts, Forests, Climate Refugees, Extreme Weather, Tornadoes
• Wildfires, Corals, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Models, Lindzen, Curry
• Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Law & Activism, Activism, Polls, H2O Biz, Predictions
• National Politics: America, BP Disaster, 2012, Perry, Budget, SCOTUS, Obama, USAdmin, Congress, Lobbyists
• Britain, Europe, Australia, Carbon War, Murray-Darling, India, China, Japan
• Canada, Post G20, Lobbyists, NRC, Earth Day, Report Card, Flooding
• Cohen Commission, BC, Tar Sands, Sask, Ontario, Maritimes
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Media, Video, Courts
• Energy, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Peak Oil, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, FITs, Nukes, Grid, Efficiency, Cars
• Business, Greenwashing, FAQs, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Miscellaneous Climate, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

This weekend we have holidays for all persuasions and humour for none:

1. 2011/04/20: DailyKos: (cartoon - TomTom) The Conservabot Returns
2. 2011/04/22: Seppo: (cartoon - Seppo) Basic Earth Day info
3. 2011/04/22: QuarkSoup: (cartoon - ecard) America
4. 2011/04/22: QuarkSoup: (cartoon - ecard) Happy Earth Day
5. 2011/04/22: uComics: (cartoon - Auth) When I'm Finished...

   And for those interested in exploring the nether reaches of Poe's Law:

6. 2011/04/20: Wonkette: Happy 'BP Destroyed the Gulf of Mexico Forever' Day!

   Looking ahead to COP17 and future international climate negotiations:

7. 2011/04/22: EurActiv: Ex-climate chief calls for private sector seat at UN talks
   Yvo de Boer, the former UN climate chief, has called for the private sector to participate in international negotiations about the financing of the yearly $100 billion Green Climate Fund.
8. 2011/04/19: EnergyBulletin: CLIMATE: The International Response to Climate Change

   Another piece on the Fukushima heroes:

9. 2011/04/17: TruthOut: "To Work at Fukushima, You Have to Be Ready to Die"

   Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

10. 2011/04/22: NatureTGB: A GIS analysis of the number of people living near each of the world's nuclear power plants
11. 2011/04/21: NatureN: Reactors, residents and risk
    A world population analysis reveals the locations that could put the most people in danger should a nuclear accident occur.
12. 2011/04/22: ScienceInsider: A Map of Fukushima's Radiation Risks
13. 2011/04/22: CBC: Japan to build 100,000 homes for disaster survivors
    Japan's government is proposing a special $47-billion (4 trillion yen) budget to help finance reconstruction efforts and plans to build 100,000 temporary homes for survivors of last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
14. 2011/04/21: NatureTGB: Evacuations are now mandatory at Fukushima plant
15. 2011/04/21: CSM: Japan officially declares no-go zone around Fukushima
16. 2011/04/21: BBC: Japan has made it illegal to enter a 20km (12-mile) evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactor
17. 2011/04/17: TEPCO: [Press Release] Roadmap towards Restoration from the Accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
18. 2011/04/18: NatureTGB: TEPCO sets out Fukushima crisis plan
19. 2011/04/18: NatureTGB: Robots enter Fukushima
20. 2011/04/17: NBF: Japan nuclear emergency at Fukushima to continue for six to nine months
21. 2011/04/17: APR: TEPCO plans: further details....
22. 2011/04/18: APR: Monday early afternoon update
23. 2011/04/18: BBC: Robots record high radiation levels at Japan reactors
    Remote-controlled robots are being used at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant to measure radiation levels. The readings from two reactor buildings showed a "harsh environment" for humans to work in, complicating efforts to stabilise the damaged reactors. It comes a day after the plant operator said it expected to bring the crisis under control by the end of the year.
24. 2011/04/18: CBC: Japan nuclear control plan panned
    A plan to bring a nuclear plant leaking radiation in northern Japan under control within six to nine months is drawing political condemnation and a mixed response from the Japanese public.
25. 2011/04/18: CIO(Au): Robots enter Fukushima reactor building for first time
    The plant operator is hoping the iRobot Packbots will be able to provide data on current conditions

Post Fukushima, nuclear policies are in flux around the world:

26. 2011/04/21: ABC(Au): Gillard, Japanese PM pledge nuclear cooperation
    The prime ministers of Australia and Japan have agreed to work together to help promote safer nuclear power generation. The agreement, contained in an 11-point communique released in Tokyo, is aimed as strengthening safety standards around the world.
27. 2011/04/20: PressEurop: Italy -- Ciao to nuclear power
28. 2011/04/20: CBC: Canadian nuclear plant safety to be reviewed
    The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has established a task force to evaluate the operational, technical and regulatory implications of the nuclear disaster in Japan in relation to Canadian power plants.
29. 2011/04/21: ScienceInsider: Italy Puts Nuclear Power on Indefinite Hold
30. 2011/04/20: APR: Italy bails on a nuclear future...
31. 2011/04/19: APR: Vermont Yankee on the block due to Fukushima Daiichi
32. 2011/04/20: EurActiv: MEPs question cash-strapped ITER in light of Fukushima
    EU nuclear fusion project ITER should be abandoned because it is set to be built in an earthquake zone, like the stricken Fukushima plant in Japan, MEPs will argue today (20 April) as last-chance proposals for the project to pay off a 1.3 billion euro funding shortfall are tabled for discussion. Last year, a European Commission compromise suggested that a third of the ITER shortfall should come from the budget for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), with the remainder coming from the EU's unspent budget funds. But the Parliament refused to sign off on the deal, with Green MEPs opposing the technology in principle and other members claiming they had insufficient powers to scrutinise the project.
33. 2011/04/20: EUO: Italy shelves nuclear power plans
    The Italian government appears to have shelved plans for a return to nuclear energy, a further sign of the European fall-out following the Japanese Fukushima accident.
34. 2011/04/20: KSJT: China, among others, learn Japan's Nuclear Power Lesson?
    At least 32 nuclear power plants in the western Pacific are at sites that tsunamis could reach from large undersea subduction zones...
35. 2011/04/18: NatureN: Nuclear safety chief calls for reform
    Laurent Stricker says Japan's nuclear disaster should mark a turning point for the industry. Laurent Stricker, chairman of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), says that the disaster at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant should mark a turning point for an industry that many experts believe has become complacent about the safety of its reactors. Created in 1989, WANO is an international forum, headquartered in London, that brings together all nuclear power plant operators, along with governments and nuclear experts, to improve operational safety across the industry. Stricker is a nuclear engineer and former power plant director, and is also the senior adviser on nuclear affairs to the French utility company EDF.

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

36. 2011/04/22: CCurrents: Poisoning Mother Earth: America's Gulf And Fukushima
37. 2011/04/20: DerSpiegel: A Day Trip with a Geiger Counter -- Fukushima Disaster Boosts Chernobyl Tourism
    It may not be everyone's idea of a fun excursion, but increasing numbers of tourists are visiting the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The day trip package includes the use of a Geiger counter and lunch in the nuclear plant's canteen.
38. 2011/04/18: AlterNet: Vision: Watching the Nuclear Disaster in Japan from Nevada's Nuke-Free, Earthquake-Prone Yucca Mountain
39. 2011/04/22: NakedCapitalism: WashingtonsBlog: Leading Epidemiologist Says that Instead of Trying to Avoid Japanese Radiation, Put Your Energy Into Demanding a Saner Energy Policy
40. 2011/04/21: NatureTGB: VIDEO: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis
41. 2011/04/21: CBC: Japanese angry over nuclear no-go zone
    Japanese residents displaced from the 20-kilometre area surrounding a nuclear plant that is leaking radiation are angry that the government is declaring the region off limits. The no-go order takes effect midnight Thursday night local time, said the government. Anyone entering the area after that time will be subject to fines equivalent to up to $1,150 Cdn or up to 30 days in detention.
42. 2011/04/21: BBerg: Tepco Must End 'Whack-a-Mole,' Protect Reactors From Storms
    Tokyo Electric Power Co. must speed up plans to cover reactors at its crippled nuclear plant and drain tainted water to prevent more radiation leaks as Japan's typhoon season approaches, engineering professors said. In 2004, eight cyclones passed over or skirted Japan's Tohoku region, where the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power station is spewing radiation after an earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The earliest was in May that year, according to Japan's weather agency data. The eyes of two storms passed within 300 kilometers (180 miles) of Tohoku last year, the data show.
43. 2011/04/19: DemNow: As Radiation Continues to Leak from Japan Nuke Plant, Owners of Vermont Yankee Plant Sue to Stay Open
44. 2011/04/20: DVoice: Fukushima's Boiling-Water Reactors Continue to Boil and a Sarcophagus Looms
45. 2011/04/19: BBC: India nuclear plant protests stepped up
    Crowds ransacked a hospital and set buses alight in a second day of violent protests against a planned nuclear power plant in western India.
46. 2011/04/18: ScienceInsider: Fukushima Plan: Achieving Cold Shutdown Could Take 6 Months

    Chernobyl and Three Mile Island got dragged into the controversy as well:

47. 2011/04/22: OpenDem: Chernobyl: the first month
    Twenty-five years after the Chernobyl disaster, Barys Piatrovich recalls the tension of unknowing that gripped him and those around him during the days that followed. Today, barely any of the Chernobyl evacuees are still alive. Spread throughout the country, they died alone and unnoticed, statistically insignificant.
48. 2011/04/22: APR: Reflections on public opinion after TMI
49. 2011/04/20: DerSpiegel: Greenpeace Attacks Donor Conference -- 'How Many Chernobyls Can the World Afford?'
    The global community has pledged a half-billion euros at the donor conference in Kiev for a new sarcophagus to cover the ruins of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Tobias Münchmeyer of Greenpeace argues the conference is only the beginning. The dangers of Chernobyl will be with us for thousands of years to come and will remain extremely expensive for Europe.
50. 2011/04/19: BBC: An international conference called to raise funds for new safety measures at the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster has fallen 25% short of its goal
51. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): Ukraine is seeking more than $1 billion in donations to help build a new concrete structure to seal the remains of the Chernobyl nuclear plant
52. 2011/04/19: NatureTGB: Cash promised to help clean up Chernobyl

    Power Shift 2011 went down in DC:

53. 2011/04/20: Rabble: Thousands gather at Power Shift 2011
54. 2011/04/22: DemNow: Bill McKibben of 350.org Calls House Vote on Global Warming "One of the Most Embarrassing Votes Congress Has Ever Taken"
55. 2011/04/22: DemNow: "Now Is Our Time to Take a Stand": Tim DeChristopher's Message to Youth Climate Activists at Power Shift 2011
56. 2011/04/22: DemNow: "Hold Both Parties to High Standards": Van Jones, Obama's Ex-Green Jobs Czar
57. 2011/04/22: CSW: Talking at Power Shift 2011 about how to deal with climate change denialists
58. 2011/04/20: CSW: EPA Administrator Jackson to Power Shift 2011: "President Obama is the last line of defense. The first line of defense is you."
59. 2011/04/20: Guardian(UK): The voice of America's frustrated youth, Power Shift, is on its way to the UK
60. 2011/04/20: Guardian(UK): Renewed energy for renewable energy
    A new wave of activists is gearing up to combat the millions the US Chamber of Commerce invests in boosting fossil fuels
61. 2011/04/19: OilChange: 10,000 March for Climate Justice
62. 2011/04/19: AlterNet: Bill McKibben: We Can't Wait for the Politicians, We Have to Create the Future that We Need Ourselves
    The following was a speech Bill McKibben gave at the Powershift 2011 conference in Washington DC.
63. 2011/04/18: TreeHugger: 10,000 Students Take to DC Streets, Calling for Action on Climate & BP Spill [Powershift]

    Ah yes. Earth Day:

64. 2011/04/22: UNEP: Remembering Earth Day
65. 2011/04/22: CCurrents: April 22, Earth Day: We Must Stop Climate Catastrophe
66. 2011/04/22: DemNow: Earth Day Special: Vandana Shiva and Maude Barlow on the Rights of Mother Earth
67. 2011/04/22: EurActiv: Earth Day organisers call for 'a billion acts of green'
68. 2011/04/22: ClimateP: Let's rename Earth Day
69. 2011/04/21: AlterNet: 5 Reasons to Be Hopeful We Haven't Totally Screwed Ourselves and the Planet ... Yet
70. 2011/04/18: TreeHugger: Earth Day is Passe...Or is It?

    An article by Matthew Nisbet kicked off a blogostorm:

71. 2011/04/23: BSD: Nisbet/Romm/Mooney/Prop 23
72. 2011/04/23: Grist: No, ozone regulations were not easy
73. 2011/04/22: MTobis: Widespread Misinformation on Strat Ozone History?
74. 2011/04/22: DailyKos: Terrible climate messaging from a Google communications specialist
75. 2011/04/22: Deltoid: Ozone revisionism
76. 2011/04/22: ClimateP: Chris Mooney on "False Balance in Matthew Nisbet's Climate Shift Report"
77. 2011/04/18: MediaMatters: [Nisbet] Report Glosses Over Media Failures In Climate Coverage
78. 2011/04/21: KSJT: Climate Shift: Matt Nisbet weighs in on why cap and trade failed to catch fire with Congress, public
79. 2011/04/21: DM:CCM: False Balance in Matthew Nisbet's Climate Shift Report
80. 2011/04/20: NatureN: Money not the problem in US climate debate
81. 2011/04/19: ClimateP: Climate Shift data reanalysis makes clear opponents of climate bill far outspent environmentalists
82. 2011/04/19: ClimateP: Brulle on Climate Shift: " requested to be removed from the report because I felt that my role was being used to create a veneer of academic legitimacy that I do not believe the report merits."
83. 2011/04/19: DM:CCM: The Nisbet Report on Our Climate Failures, Part I
84. 2011/04/18: ClimateP: Media Matters eviscerates Nisbet's media analysis in discredited Climate Shift report
85. 2011/04/18: ClimateP: Leading expert [Dr. Robert J. Brulle] withdraws name from Climate Shift report, explains how key conclusion that environmentalists weren't outspent by opponents of climate bill "is contradicted by Nisbet's own data"

    The Kang et al. paper on ozone sparked some interest:

86. 2011/04/21: Science: (ab$) Impact of Polar Ozone Depletion on Subtropical Precipitation by S. M. Kang et al.
87. 2011/04/22: CNN: Antarctic ozone hole affecting weather in tropics, new study says
    U.S. scientists draw link between Antarctic ozone hole and tropical weather changes - Sophisticated climate model run alongside historical observations prove link - Ozone layer expected to repair itself by middle of 21st century according to scientists
88. 2011/04/21: BBC: Ozone hole has dried Australia, scientists find
    The Antarctic ozone hole is about one-third to blame for Australia's recent series of droughts, scientists say.
89. 2011/04/21: SciNews: Ozone loss made tropics rainier -- Hole over Antarctica changes weather patterns all the way to the equator

    What are the global financial institutions up to?

90. 2011/04/19: OilChange: World Bank Executives: Stop Defending Dirty Energy for the Poor

    Bolivia has a law granting rights to Mother Earth:

91. 2011/04/20: ENS: Bolivia Celebrates Law Granting Rights to Mother Earth
92. 2011/04/19: Guardian(UK): We should look to Bolivia for inspiration
    Bolivia under President Evo Morales is seeking a radical development model based on equality and environmental sustainability -- and there are lessons we can all learn
93. 2011/04/18: WiredSci: Nature to Get Legal Rights in Bolivia

    Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

94. 2011/04/22: TSoD: The Mystery of Tau -- Miskolczi
95. 2011/04/21: TSoD: Understanding Atmospheric Radiation and the "Greenhouse" Effect - Part Eleven - Heating Rates

    An Early Warning System?

96. 2011/04/19: PlanetArk: Scientists Want Climate Change Early-Warning System
97. 2011/04/18: Guardian(UK): Scientists call for climate change early-warning system
    Royal Society papers say a better monitoring network for greenhouse gases is needed to warn of significant changes

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

98. 2011/04/24: SkeptiSci: Cosmic ray contribution to global warming negligible by Ari Jokimäki
99. 2011/04/23: SkeptiSci: Wakening the Kraken by Agnostic & Daniel Bailey
100. 2011/04/21: SkeptiSci: CO2 Reductions Will Not Cool the Planet? We Know by grypo
101. 2011/04/20: SkeptiSci: A Convention for Persons Displaced by Climate Change by David Hodgkinson
102. 2011/04/20: SkeptiSci: Muller Misinformation #4: Time to Act by dana1981
103. 2011/04/19: SkeptiSci: Announcing www.shapingtomorrowsworld.org by Stephan Lewandowsky
104. 2011/04/19: SkeptiSci: Christy Crock #4: Do the observations match the models? by James Wight

     Post CRU theft, controversy & inquiry:

105. 2011/04/21: MoJo: Climategate: What Really Happened?
     How climate science became the target of "the best-funded, best-organized smear campaign by the wealthiest industry that the Earth has ever known."

The Arctic melt continues to garner a lot of attention:

106. 2011/04/23: ASI: A warm river runs through it
107. 2011/04/21: ASI: Flushing out the Fjord 2
108. 2011/04/21: PostMedia: Melt from Arctic glaciers would nearly fill Lake Erie, study says -- Ice loss contributes to rise in sea level
109. 2011/04/18: ASI: Temps

     As for the charismatic megafauna:

110. 2011/04/20: CBC: Iqaluit to host polar bear conservation meeting [Oct. 24 to 26]
     Canada will discuss polar bear conservation with governments and scientists from four other Arctic nations at a meeting this fall in Iqaluit. The meeting, slated to take place Oct. 24 to 26, will mark the first time the five signatories to the 1973 Agreement on Conservation of Polar Bears will meet in Canada's North, where two-thirds of the world's polar bears are based. Delegations from Norway, Russia, the United States and Greenland, along with a Canadian delegation, will meet in Nunavut's capital city for the meeting.

Melting ice and permafrost is making the coast susceptible to erosion:

111. 2011/04/23: CBC:Q&Q: Dwindling Archipelago -- Arctic Coasts in Retreat -- Powering The Dream
112. 2011/04/18: AWI: 18. April 2011: Arctic coasts on the retreat - International studies describe current state of the Arctic coasts
     The coastline in Arctic regions reacts to climate change with increased erosion and retreats by half a metre per year on average. This means substantial changes for Arctic ecosystems near the coast and the population living there.
113. 2011/04/18: CBC: Arctic coast eroding up to 8 metres a year: study

     That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:

114. 2011/04/23: SkeptiSci: Wakening the Kraken by Agnostic & Daniel Bailey

     As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

115. 2011/04/22: Guardian(UK): Why an oil spill in Arctic waters would be devastating
116. 2011/04/20: CBC: Baffinland ex-shareholders launch [C$800 million] lawsuit -- Takeover documents had omissions, misstatements, lawsuit claims

     While in Antarctica:

117. 2011/04/18: PlanetArk: [Mertz] Glacier Calving [in East Antarctica] Reveals Secrets Of The Deep

     The food crisis is ongoing:

118. 2011/04/22: EnergyBulletin: Land of rising food anxieties
119. 2011/04/22: BBC: Somalia drought leaves one in four children hungry - UN
120. 2011/04/22: ProMedMail: Wheat streak mosaic virus - USA: (IL)
121. 2011/04/20: PhysOrg: International scientists warn of growing threat of wheat rust epidemics worldwide
     Researchers meeting at a scientific conference in Aleppo this week reported that aggressive new strains of wheat rust diseases -- called stem rust and stripe rust -- have decimated up to 40% of farmers' wheat fields in recent harvests. Areas affected are North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucuses, including Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
122. 2011/04/20: Eureka: International scientists warn of growing threat of wheat rust epidemics worldwide
123. 2011/04/19: BPA: At What Oil Price Does it Pay to Ship Agricultural Products?
124. 2011/04/20: SoS: Large-Scale Food Theft -- A criminal gang is stealing truckloads of food...
125. 2011/04/18: AllAfrica: FinancialGazette: [Zimbabwe] Serious Food Shortages Loom
     For the eleventh year in a row Zimbabwe will again fail to feed itself, giving credence to arguments by critiques of the country's chaotic land reforms that the exercise was poorly executed. As the 2010/2011 agricultural summer cropping season draws to an end, an estimated two million Zimbabweans are said to be in the queue for food aid. Although government has dismissed reports from the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET), which monitors food security around the world, that 2,2 million face food shortages, it recently announced that six provinces out of 10 required food aid after yet another unsuccessful cropping season.

Food Prices are still problematic:

126. FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
127. 2011/04/20: ERW: Food price rises pushing millions into extreme poverty, World Bank warns
     Food producing countries must relax export controls and divert production away from biofuels to prevent millions more people being driven into poverty by higher food prices, the head of the World Bank Robert Zoellick said in Washington.

Regarding the food factor in the ongoing revolutions:

128. 2011/04/22: Guardian(UK): This will be the Arab world's next battle
     Population growth and water supply are on a collision course. Hunger is set to become the main issue

So, are these land grabs Colonialism V2.0?

129. 2011/04/21: EnergyBulletin: It's time to outlaw land grabbing, not to make it "responsible"!

     Regarding the genetic modification of food:

130. 2011/04/19: Grist: USDA moves to let Monsanto perform its own environmental impact studies on GMOs

     And how are we going to feed 9 billion?

131. 2011/04/21: BPA: Forces Affecting Investment in Agricultural Technology and Infrastructure
132. 2011/04/21: Grist: Organic agriculture: deeply rooted in science and ecology
133. 2011/04/20: BPA: Australia's "Grain and Graze" Farming Method Provides Peak Oil and Climate Change Resiliency
134. 2011/04/15: EnergyBulletin: How a once nutritious grain was transformed into something unhealthy to eat: the story of refined white rice

     Another relatively quiet week in the hurricane wars:

135. 2011/04/22: Wunderground: Invest 91L more organized, but has little time to develop
136. 2011/04/21: Wunderground: Atlantic tropical disturbance 91L poses little threat
137. 2011/04/20: Eureka: GOES-13 sees an extraordinarily early Atlantic low in the tropics
138. 2011/04/20: UIUC: Ring around the hurricanes: Satellites can predict storm intensity
139. 2011/04/18: Eureka: NASA's Aqua satellite sees weaker Tropical Depression Errol crossing West Timor

     As for GHGs:

140. 2011/04/22: EurActiv: Recession cut EU CO2 emissions by record 7.2%
     Recession drove European Union CO2 emissions down by a record 7.2% in 2009, putting the bloc ahead of its climate goals, a report released this week (20 April) by the European Environment Agency (EEA) says.
141. 2011/04/18: PlanetArk: Recession Cuts U.S. And Russia 2009 Greenhouse Emissions
142. 2011/04/18: TreeHugger: Shell Emissions Up by 9% Last Year, Natural Gas Flaring Up 32%

     As for the temperature record:

143. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): Impact of ocean temperature spike investigated
     A record marine heatwave being experienced along the West Australian coastline will be investigated by a team of researchers from across the nation next month. The Department of Fisheries' Dr Dan Gaughan says in the past few months record water surface temperatures, more than three degrees higher than normal, have been detected, partly due to a stronger than usual Leeuwin current during summer.

Clouds are one of the major uncertainties in climate. Much research revolves around them:

144. 2011/04/22: SciNews: Salt clouds relieve some Arctic warming -- Sea spray creates a diffuse filter for the sun's warming rays
145. 2011/04/22: Eureka: Effect of cloud-scattered sunlight on earth's energy balance depends on wavelength of light -- Accounting for wavelength effects will likely improve climate models
146. 2011/04/18: NASA: Clouds, Clouds, Burning Bright -- noctilucent clouds over the Southern Pole

     While in the paleoclimate:

147. 2011/04/22: Eureka: Purdue-led team studies Earth's recovery from [PETM] prehistoric global warming

     What's new on the extinction front?

148. 2011/04/24: ClimateP: Endangered Easter Bunnies??
149. 2011/04/24: Guardian(UK): Spring may lose song of cuckoos, nightingales and turtle doves
     Scientists are struggling to explain a catastrophic decline in the number of birds whose annual visits are part of our folklore
150. 2011/04/20: Eureka: Contemporary climate change alters the pace and drivers of extinction
151. 2011/04/19: DerSpiegel: Overfished, Underprotected -- Dozens of Fish Species Threatened in the Mediterranean
     Many species of fish could disappear from the waters of the Mediterranean in the near future, says a new study. Several types of sharks and rays are threatened, as are many commercial fish. Protection has long been too lax.
152. 2011/04/19: TreeHugger: Overfishing Means 40 Species of Mediterranean Fish May Be Extinct in Next Few Years

     More GW impacts are being seen:

153. 2011/04/19: PlanetArk: Warming Seas Could Push Some Fish Species To Limit: Study

     And then there are the world's forests:

154. 2011/04/20: A&LUF: Agricultural intensification and deforestation: case study from West Africa
155. 2011/04/21: TreeHugger: As Anti-Malarial Trees In East Africa Are Threatened With Extinction, Scientists Developing GM Mosquitos [forests]
156. 2011/04/20: UDW: Rebellion in the Brazilian Amazon
157. 2011/04/20: PlanetArk: Vale Close To Agreeing Share In Amazon [Belo Monte] Dam: Source
158. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: Palm Oil Lobby Fights World Bank's Environmental Initiatives in Indonesia, Malaysia
159. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: Rising Gold Prices Mean Deforestation in Peruvian Amazon Up 600%
160. 2011/04/18: OpenDem: Glaring emissions: the threat to Indonesia's rainforest
     Thanks to the Orwellian double-speak of Indonesian emissions abatement strategy, the proposed solution may in fact be the disaster itself.

Climate refugees are becoming an issue:

161. 2011/04/19: QuarkSoup: UN Blew It on Predictions of Climate Refugees
162. 2011/04/18: DerSpiegel: Feared Migration Hasn't Happened -- UN Embarrassed by Forecast on Climate Refugees
     Six years ago, the United Nations issued a dramatic warning that the world would have to cope with 50 million climate refugees by 2010. But now that those migration flows have failed to materialize, the UN has distanced itself from the forecasts. On the contrary, populations are growing in the regions that had been identified as environmental danger zones.

This week in extreme weather:

163. 2011/04/22: CCurrents: What's With The Weather? Is Climate Change To Blame?
164. 2011/04/18: CBC: China thunderstorms kill 18
165. 2011/04/18: al Jazeera: Severe thunderstorms and sandstorms hit China
     At least 18 people dead as wind and rain batter the south, while north is hit by dust originating from the Gobi Desert.

Meanwhile in tornado alley:

166. 2011/04/23: BBC: Tornado closes Lambert-St Louis airport
     The US airport of Lambert-St Louis has been closed indefinitely after a tornado ripped through its main terminal. The storm tore off a large section of the terminal's roof, shattering windows and sending debris flying.
167. 2011/04/23: CBC: St. Louis tornado leaves trail of destruction
168. 2011/04/22: CNN: Reported tornado hits St. Louis airport
169. 2011/04/23: Wunderground: Tornado causes severe damage at St. Louis' airport
170. 2011/04/22: CBC: Tornado hits St. Louis airport -- Several injuries reported
171. 2011/04/20: Wunderground: Tornadoes, huge hail pound the Midwest, but bring little Texas drought relief
172. 2011/04/20: CBC: Tornadoes batter U.S. states
173. 2011/04/18: NASA: GOES-13 Satellite Animation Shows U.S. Severe Storms and Tornado Outbreak
174. 2011/04/18: Guardian(UK): US tornadoes force shutdown of two nuclear reactors in Virginia
     Series of storms that hit states from Oklahoma to North Carolina left at least 45 people dead and caused widespread damage
175. 2011/04/18: CNN: Hard-hit areas of South in 'recovery mode' after deadly tornadoes
     Weather service confirms at least 97 tornadoes in three-day outbreak - Weekend outbreak is largest since 2008, records show - Storms forecast for Tuesday could bring tornadoes, hail to Midwest - Rescuer in Bertie County: "It ripped the houses to shreds"
176. 2011/04/18: Wunderground: Historic 3-day tornado outbreak kills at least 40
177. 2011/04/18: CSM: Why North Carolina, far from Tornado Alley, took brunt of big outbreak
178. 2011/04/18: BBC: Rescue efforts continue after lethal US storms
     Search and rescue efforts are continuing in the US state of North Carolina after three days of storms and tornadoes killed at least 45 people across half a dozen states.
179. 2011/04/18: CBC: U.S. states clean up after deadly tornadoes
180. 2011/04/17: AlterNet: Tornadoes Wreak Havoc, Kill at Least 44 in Southern US
181. 2011/04/17: BBC: The death toll from three days of severe weather across several southern US states has risen to at least 43
182. 2011/04/17: Guardian(UK): Tornadoes leave dozens dead in US
     A savage storm system tore through the southern states reducing homes to rubble and leaving thousands without power

As for heatwaves and wild fires:

183. 2011/04/20: BBC: In pictures: Wildfires rage across Texas
184. 2011/04/20: CBC: Texas wildfire razes 150 homes
185. 2011/04/20: News919: Firefighters battle blazes that have lasted for about a week in drought-stricken Texas
186. 2011/04/20: CNN: Texas burning 'from border to border'
     Possum Kingdom resident Jackie Fewell has set up an Internet blog to provide updates - Evacuation orders were lifted for Coke County, Texas - New fires emerge in Stephens and Garza counties in northern Texas - Emergency personnel responded Tuesday to 10 new fires
187. 2011/04/19: ENS: Huge Texas Wildfires Scorch 1.5 Million Acres
188. 2011/04/20: CSM: Texas wildfires burn 'border to border;' cold front lifts hopes
189. 2011/04/20: BBC: Texas wildfires destroy a million acres
190. 2011/04/19: ClimateP: Hell: "Unprecedented drought" drives "never-before-seen wildfire situation in Texas" -- High Water: Aussie inland tsunami labelled 1-in-370 year event
191. 2011/04/19: CNN: Dry, windy conditions complicate Texas fire fight
     Aerial images show homes near Possum Kingdom Lake burned to the ground - Officials say high winds and low humidity Tuesday complicate containment efforts - Air National Guard C-130s are on the scene to drop fire retardant
192. 2011/04/18: CNN: Fires burn across Texas with no end in sight
     Hundreds of fires threaten Texas - Spring winds combined with dry conditions typical of late summer have "not boded well" - A Forest Service spokeswoman says conditions in Texas are the driest since 1917 - Authorities have responded to 7,807 fires across more than 1.5 million acres since this year's wildfire season began - In southwest Austin, 10 homes suffered major damage

Corals are dying:

193. 2011/04/19: NatureN: What makes a resilient reef? Local factors can help coral survive global heat waves

     Sea levels are rising:

194. 2011/04/20: ClimateP: Hansen et al concludes "the rate of sea level rise is likely to accelerate during the next several years."
195. 2011/04/18: Tamino: Cherries Jubilee

     As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

196. 2011/04/23: BBC: Brazil hit by deadly floods and landslides
     Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain have killed at least 10 people in southern Brazil. Among the dead were three children whose home was among several buried in the town of Novo Hamburgo in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
197. 2011/04/22: BPA: NOAA Seasonal Drought Outlook Map for the U.S.
198. 2011/04/21: NOAANews: National Weather Service warns of excessive weekend rainfall, worsening floods in Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio River Valleys
199. 2011/04/20: BBC: Colombia: Mudslides cause major damage in Utica
     More than 200 families have been left homeless in the central Colombian town of Utica after a mudslide swept away their houses. Heavy rains caused the local river to break its banks, sending torrents of water, mud and stones through the town's streets. Officials said one elderly woman died and two men are missing.

Consider transportation & GHG production:

200. 2011/04/20: CalcRisk: DOT: Vehicle Miles Driven increased in February
201. 2011/04/14: UPI: China's high-speed trains to slow down

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

202. 2011/04/21: Straight: Vancouver lays groundwork for carbon-neutral buildings
     The City of Vancouver is laying the groundwork to achieve its ambitious goal of requiring all new buildings to be carbon neutral starting in 2020. Also called net-zero buildings, these structures generate as much energy as they consume, thereby producing no climate-altering greenhouse gasses. According to David Ramslie, manager of the city's sustainable-development program, a new building code is coming out next year, one that he described as the first real step toward making residential and commercial constructions carbon neutral in the near future.
203. 2011/04/19: Grist: Visiting a house in Germany that generates more energy than it uses
204. 2011/04/19: TreeHugger: The End of the Glass Box Is Nigh

     As for carbon sequestration:

205. 2011/04/19: DerSpiegel: Controversial New Law -- Germany Squanders Chance to Pioneer CO2 Capture Technology
     German scientists and industry had been hoping that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology could help the transition to a low-carbon future. But a new bill drawn up by the German government has put the brakes on the technology before it was even properly tested.
206. 2011/04/19: CBC: Alleged leak of CO2 at Sask. farm to be probed

     Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

207. 2011/04/18: TreeHugger: Injecting Aerosols Into Atmosphere to Slow Global Warming Environmentally & Economically Risky
208. 2011/04/17: ClimateP: Science Sunday: "The economics (or lack thereof) of aerosol geoengineering" -- Is the aerosol strategy intergenerationally unethical?

     While on the adaptation front:

209. 2011/04/18: Eureka: Habitat restoration could help species to cope with climate change

     Meanwhile in the journals:

210. 2011/04/19: NERC:NORA: Can atmospheric circulation be linked to flooding in Europe? by Christel Prudhomme & Marie Genevier
211. 2011/04/20: NERC:NORA: Tropical Cyclone Climatology at the Last Glacial Maximum and mid-Holocene by Simon Dadson & J. Galewsky
212. 2011/04/21: NERC:NORA: The nitrogen cycle and its influence on the European greenhouse gas balance edited by Mark Sutton & Stefan Reis
213. 2011/04/21: GMD: MADE-in: a new aerosol microphysics submodel for global simulation of insoluble particles and their mixing state by V. Aquila et al.
214. 2011/04/20: TC: Multi-decadal mass loss of glaciers in the Everest area (Nepal Himalaya) derived from stereo imagery by T. Bolch et al.
215. 2011/04/20: TCD: Ice stream or not? Radio-echo sounding of Carlson Inlet, West Antarctica by E. C. King
216. 2011/04/22: GRL: (ab$) Late Eemian warming in the Nordic Seas as seen in proxy data and climate models by A. Born et al.
217. 2011/04/21: Holocene: (ab$) How fire and climate shaped grass-dominated vegetation and forest mosaics in northern South Africa during past millennia by Elinor Breman et al.
218. 2011/04/21: PLoS Genetics: Adaptations to Climate-Mediated Selective Pressures in Humans by Angela M. Hancock et al.
219. 2009/09/16: CGJ: Arctic coastal retreat through block failure by Md. Azharul Hoque & Wayne H. Pollard
220. 2011/04/21: CP: Interglacial and glacial variability from the last 800 ka in marine, ice and terrestrial archives by N. Lang & E. W. Wolff
221. 2011/04/20: CP: Terrestrial mollusc records from Xifeng and Luochuan L9 loess strata and their implications for paleoclimatic evolution in the Chinese Loess Plateau during marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 24-22 by B. Wu & N. Q. Wu
222. 2011/04/20: CPD: Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous high-latitude sea-surface temperatures from the Southern Ocean by H. C. Jenkyns et al.
223. 2011/04/19: CPD: Using synoptic type analysis to understand New Zealand climate during the Mid-Holocene by D. Ackerley et al.
224. 2011/04/21: Science: (ab$) Impact of Polar Ozone Depletion on Subtropical Precipitation by S. M. Kang et al.
225. 2011/04/21: Nature: (ab$) Sharply increased mass loss from glaciers and ice caps in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago by Alex S. Gardner et al.
226. 2011/04/21: ACP: Toward unification of the multiscale modeling of the atmosphere by A. Arakawa et al.
227. 2011/04/21: ACP: The annual cycle in lower stratospheric temperatures revisited by S. Fueglistaler et al.
228. 2011/04/20: ACP: Source attribution of the changes in atmospheric methane for 2006-2008 by P. Bousquet et al.
229. 2011/04/19: ACP: Episodes of cross-polar transport in the Arctic troposphere during July 2008 as seen from models, satellite, and aircraft observations by H. Sodemann et al.
230. 2011/04/18: ACP: Sources of variations in total column carbon dioxide by G. Keppel-Aleks et al.
231. 2011/04/21: ACPD: Size-resolved CCN distributions and activation kinetics of aged continental and marine aerosol by A. Bougiatioti et al.
232. 2011/04/21: ACPD: Measurements of cloud condensation nuclei activity and droplet activation kinetics of wet processed regional dust samples and minerals by P. Kumar et al.
233. 2011/04/19: ACPD: A study of uncertainties in the sulfate distribution and its radiative forcing associated with sulfur chemistry in a global aerosol model by D. Goto et al.
234. 2011/04/19: ACPD: Large Asian dust layers continuously reached North America in April 2010 by I. Uno et al.
235. 2011/04/19: ACPD: Satellite- and ground-based CO total column observations over 2010 Russian fires: accuracy of top-down estimates based on thermal IR satellite data. by L. Yurganov et al.
236. 2011/04/19: ACPD: Atmospheric impacts of the 2010 Russian wildfires: integrating modelling and measurements of the extreme air pollution episode in the Moscow megacity region by I. B. Konovalov et al.
237. 2011/04/16: GRL: (ab$) Observations of recent Arctic sea ice volume loss and its impact on ocean-atmosphere energy exchange and ice production by N. T. Kurtz et al.
238. 2011/04/19: PNAS: (ab$) Integrated soil-crop system management for food security by Xin-Ping Chen et al.
239. 2011/04/19: PNAS: (letter$) Reply to Luo and Konstantinidis: Phosphorus-related genes are enriched in Prochlorococcus populations from the North Atlantic by Maureen L. Coleman & Sallie W. Chisholm
240. 2011/04/19: PNAS: (letter$) Phosphorus-related gene content is similar in Prochlorococcus populations from the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans by Chengwei Luo & Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis
241. 2011/04/19: PNAS: (letter$) Reply to Freeman et al.: Carbon isotope discrimination by C3 plants by Matthew J. Kohn
242. 2011/04/19: PNAS: (letter$) Clarifying the influence of water availability and plant types on carbon isotope discrimination by C3 plants by Katherine H. Freeman et al.
243. 2011/04/18: GMD: Simulation of variability in atmospheric carbon dioxide using a global coupled Eulerian - Lagrangian transport model by Y. Koyama et al.
244. 2011/04/19: GMDD: Modeling anthropogenically-controled secondary organic aerosols in a megacity: a simplified framework for global and climate models by A. Hodzic & J. L. Jimenez
245. 2011/04/16: GRL: (ab$) Rising Arctic Ocean temperatures cause gas hydrate destabilization and ocean acidification by A. Biastoch et al.
246. 2011/04/18: SSRN: The Regulation of Climate Engineering Research by Jesse Reynolds
247. 2011/04/18: AGWObserver: New research from last week 15/2011

     And other significant documents:

248. [several pdfs] State of Arctic Coasts 2010

     As for miscellaneous science:

249. 2011/04/20: MTobis: Incremental Radicalism and Other Awkward Beliefs
250. 2011/04/19: GreenFyre: There is grandeur in this view of life
251. 2011/04/19: QuarkSoup: Climate Seminar Marred by Skeptics
252. 2011/04/19: MTobis: Open science, but not just yet
253. 2011/04/18: ClimateShifts: Horizon: Science Under Attack
254. 2011/04/18: JEB: The EGU review
255. 2011/04/18: NOAANews: NOAA joins international effort to track black carbon in the Arctic -- Unmanned aircraft, land, ship observations study potential role in Arctic climate
256. 2011/04/23: AFTIC: Disagreeing with the IPCC's approach

     What's new in models?:

257. 2011/04/19: QuarkSoup: Progress in Climate Models

     Regarding Lindzen:

258. 2011/04/22: Deltoid: Lindzen's whoppers on 2GB
259. 2011/04/22: SkeptiSci: Lindzen Illusion #1: We Should Have Seen More Warming by dana1981

     Regarding Curry:

260. 2011/04/23: GreenFyre: Judith Curry's disingenuous blame game

     And on the carbon trading front:

261. 2011/04/20: GEP: The Panda Standard

     The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

262. 2011/04/18: Maribo: An argument for a gas tax

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

263. 2011/04/20: HotTopic: Ratcliffe coal protesters invited to appeal conviction
264. 2011/04/18: Guardian(UK): DPP urges convicted power station protesters to appeal
     Keir Starmer says 20 people found guilty of trespass should take case back to court over involvement of undercover police officer
265. 2011/04/18: BBC: Top prosecutor tells power station protesters to appeal
     Director of Public Prosecutions Kier Starmer QC has told 20 people to appeal against convictions over planned protests at a power station. His letter comes after revelations that the Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters had been infiltrated by an undercover police officer. Mr Starmer said the CPS had reviewed the 2010 convictions amid allegations about former Pc Mark Kennedy. The Court of Appeal should look at the cases as soon as possible, he added. The 20 protesters contacted by Mr Starmer were convicted in December 2010 of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at the Nottinghamshire power station the year before. They were given a mixture of community service orders and conditional discharges - and the judge accepted they were "decent men and women" motivated by their concern for the environment. But a month later, the prosecution of a further six people collapsed when the CPS said that "previously unavailable material" had emerged that undermined the case. The decision to drop the case came amid reports that Pc Mark Kennedy, who had infiltrated environmental groups, had changed sides and had offered to help the defence.

What are the activists up to?

266. 2011/04/22: Guardian(UK): Activists occupy oil rig in fight to prevent Arctic drilling
     Environmental groups fear oil industry is not prepared for potentially catastrophic impact of oil spills in the Arctic The fight to stop the global oil industry exploring the pristine deep waters of the Arctic has been dubbed the new cold war, and early on Friday it escalated as environmental activists from 12 countries occupied the world's second largest rig on its way from Turkey to Greenland to drill among the icebergs. The protesters found the 52,000-tonne semi-submersible platform Leiv Eiriksson at around midnight, steaming due west at a stately six knots in the sea of Marmara, heading for the Dardanelle straits and the open Mediterranean.

Polls! We have polls!

267. 2011/04/22: CleanBreak: Happy (or sad) Earth Day: A Gallup poll that's encouraging and disturbing at the same time
268. 2011/04/20: Gallup: Fewer Americans, Europeans View Global Warming as a Threat -- Worldwide, 42% see serious risk, similar to 2007-2008
269. 2011/04/19: Grist: American teens smarter about climate change than adults, despite knowing less
270. 2011/04/19: TreeHugger: American Teens Know Less About Climate Change Than Their Parents
271. 2011/04/19: TreeHugger: 87% of Americans Want BP's Fines Paid to Gulf States Not US Treasury As Planned

     Regarding Water Politics and Business:

272. 2011/04/20: CDreams: Mekong Ecology in the Balance as Laos Quietly Begins Work on Dam
273. 2011/04/19: NatureTGB: Mekong River Commission defers Xayaburi dam decision
274. 2011/04/18: Guardian(UK): Decision looms on Mekong River dam opposed by conservation groups
275. 2011/04/18: TreeHugger: Dams on Mekong Tributaries Produce Same Power With Less Impact Than Those on the Main River

     Who's making predictions this week?

276. 2011/04/17: PostMedia: Oil shortages and environmental decline could create 'global quagmire': military report
     The planet is running out of oil and heading toward a future that could trap Canada in a violent spiral of decline in the economy and the environment, a special research unit within the Canadian military is predicting. This "global quagmire" is one of four possible future scenarios advanced by the six members of the team who are developing a plan for the army of tomorrow based on existing scientific research and analysis.

And on the American political front:

277. 2011/04/22: AutoBG: Minnesota studying mileage-based user fee to replace gas tax
278. 2011/04/22: DeepClimate: Snapple on the Russian Connection
279. 2011/04/22: ClimateP: 'All of the above' is no energy policy, Part 2 [Becker]
280. 2011/04/21: ScienceInsider: Tennessee 'Critical Thinking' Education Bill Dead in the Water -- For Now
281. 2011/04/22: SF Gate: Keeping Calif. high-speed rail plan on track
282. 2011/04/21: ClimateP: Why did environmentalists pursue cap-and-trade and was it a doomed strategy?
283. 2011/04/20: Grist: Germans happily pay more for clean energy. Why don't Americans?
284. 2011/04/20: PeakEnergy: What have they got to hide? Making Factory Farm Photography Illegal
285. 2011/04/20: WWeek: Green Machine -- New green-energy tax breaks make critics see red
286. 2011/04/20: SoS: Large-Scale Food Theft -- A criminal gang is stealing truckloads of food...
287. 2011/04/19: MSU: Democrats and Republicans increasingly divided over global warming
288. 2011/04/18: AFTIC: Let us count the ways....
289. 2011/04/18: AlterNet: Why Are We Letting Fossil-Fuel Billionaire Pickens Write Our Energy Policy and Push for More Dangerous Gas Drilling?
290. 2011/04/19: CrTimber: On climate change, the GOP is lost in never-never land

     The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:

291. 2011/04/22: USAToday: BP, Transocean spending more on lobbying
292. 2011/04/22: DeSmogBlog: Lawsuits Fly And Fizzle To Mark Anniversary Of Deepwater Horizon Explosion
293. 2011/04/22: BBC: US oil spill: Transocean 'contributed' to Gulf disaster
     A lax safety culture and poorly working kit aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig contributed to last year's explosion, the US Coast Guard says.
294. 2011/04/22: CBC: Gulf oil spill worsened by poor training: report
295. 2011/04/20: GreenGrok: The Gulf Coast One Year After
296. 2011/04/21: NOAANews: NRDA Trustees announce $1 billion agreement to fund early Gulf Coast restoration projects
297. 2011/04/21: BBC: BP has agreed to provide $1bn (£600m) to repair damage to the US Gulf Coast resulting from last year's oil spill
298. 2011/04/21: CBC: BP to fund environmental rehab projects
     U.S. officials say BP has agreed to provide $1 billion US for projects that will restore natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico damaged by last year's oil spill.
299. 2011/04/21: ClimateP: On oil spill anniversary, Darrell Issa blames Obama for 'crushing' the Gulf with 'assault on off-shore drilling'
300. 2011/04/21: ClimateP: Video: Gulf Coast recovery after the BP oilpocalypse
301. 2011/04/21: NatureN: Oil spills underreported in Mexican Gulf -- Coast Guard's self-reporting system may paint an incomplete picture
302. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: BP Spill One Year Later: The Biggest Unanswered Questions
303. 2011/04/20: ENS: BP Sues Transocean for $40 Billion Over Gulf Oil Spill
304. 2011/04/19: ProPublica: A Year After Gulf Tragedy, Offshore Oil Companies Still Shielded by Liability Limits
305. 2011/04/21: NakedCapitalism: David Apgar: What Was So Unpredictable about Deepwater Horizon?
306. 2011/04/20: ClimateP: BP marks one year anniversary of its oil disaster by giving big bucks to GOP leadership
307. 2011/04/20: CBC: BP sues rig owner for $40B
308. 2011/04/20: EnergyBulletin: One year later: Assessing the lasting impact of the Gulf spill by Carl Safina
309. 2011/04/20: BBC: BP sues Cameron [International] and Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean
310. 2011/04/20: PlanetArk: Federal Practices Hamper Study Of Gulf Dolphin Deaths
311. 2011/04/20: Grist: One year after the BP oil spill, drilling is no safer by Ed Markey
312. 2011/04/19: Grist: 10 reasons to still be pissed off about the BP disaster
313. 2011/04/20: NatureN: Deepwater Horizon: one year on -- What is the state of the Gulf of Mexico one year after the Deepwater Horizon blowout began?
314. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: The Best Writing on the BP Oil Spill [list]
315. 2011/04/18: DemNow: "5 Million Barrels of Oil Does Not Disappear": Author, Activist Antonia Juhasz on the BP Spill, One Year Later
316. 2011/04/20: CBC: Gulf oil spill leaves traces on N.L. birds
     Scientist thinks hundreds of gannets died before returning to nest in St. Mary's Bay
317. 2011/04/18: AlterNet: Why the BP Disaster in the Gulf Could Happen Again Tomorrow
318. 2011/04/19: CBC: Gulf oil disaster hasn't cut U.S. thirst to drill
319. 2011/04/20: OilChange: "I don't see any daylight at the end of this tunnel"
320. 2011/04/20: DemNow: "A Sea in Flames": Ecologist Carl Safina on First Anniversary of Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Blowout
321. 2011/04/20: DemNow: Voices from the Gulf: "One Year Later, We're in the Same Situation as Last Year"
322. 2011/04/20: DemNow: Deepwater Drilling Resumes Despite Unclear Impact of BP Spill: "It is All about Hiding the Oil, Not Cleaning It Up"
323. 2011/04/19: NOAANews: All federal waters of the Gulf once closed to fishing due to spill now open -- More than 1,000 square miles opened today
324. 2011/04/19: TreeHugger: Anniversary of the Gulf Oil Spill: It's Time To Demand a National Energy Conversation
325. 2011/04/18: ENS: BP Blowout One Year Later: Drilling Safety an Explosive Issue
326. 2011/04/19: Eureka: Gulf oil spill similar to Exxon Valdez in initial social and mental impacts, study finds
327. 2011/04/12: ISS: A year later, BP's oil is still damaging the Gulf Coast
328. 2011/04/18: KSJT: Lots of Ink: The Gulf a Year Later. Not real bad. Not real good. Need more data. Etc.
329. 2011/04/18: PlanetArk: A Year On, Gulf Still Grapples With BP Oil Spill
330. 2011/04/18: UCSUSA: On Anniversary of BP Oil Disaster, Science Group Stresses Oil Savings from Detroit
331. 2011/04/18: DeSmogBlog: Emails Reveal BP Attempted To Manipulate Oil Spill Studies
332. 2011/04/18: OilChange: BP "wanted control of the science"
333. 2011/04/17: AlterNet: "The Oil Is Not Gone": BP Tries to Block Gulf Residents from Shareholder Meeting

     On the 2012 election trail:

334. 2011/04/24: ClimateP: Polar explorer who worked with Pawlenty "baffled" by his "reckless" flip-flop on climate threat
335. 2011/04/22: DeSmogBlog: Gingrich Calls EPA "A Job Killing Regulatory Engine Of Higher Energy Prices"

     What do you call a politician who offers only prayers?

336. 2011/04/21: TreeHugger: Facing Record Droughts, Gov. Rick Perry Proclaims Official Day of Prayer for Rain
337. 2011/04/21: TexasTrib: Texas Governor [Rick Perry (R)] Declares Weekend of Prayer for Rain

     There's still some budget talk:

338. 2011/04/19: GreenGrok: The Ayes Have It, Congress Hunting For Green Monster
339. 2011/04/21: ScienceInsider: Spending Bill Prohibits U.S.-China Collaborations
     A little-noticed clause in the 2011 spending bill signed into law last week cuts off funding for a host of scientific exchanges between the United States and China.
340. 2011/04/19: NatureN: US budget a taste of battles to come

     Pundits are calling that Supreme Court global warming lawsuit, before the judges:

341. 2011/04/20: ClimateP: Supreme Court indicates it will dismiss 6-state global warming lawsuit
342. 2011/04/20: PlanetArk: Supreme Court Questions Global Warming Lawsuit
343. 2011/04/19: ScienceInsider: Can States Sue on Greenhouse Gas as a 'Nuisance'? High Court Asks
344. 2011/04/19: Grist: Why the Supreme Court should let states sue the country's biggest carbon polluters
345. 2011/04/18: MoJo: "This Case Is the Last Resort if the Federal Government Fails" -- The implications of the landmark global warming case before the Supreme Court
346. 2011/04/19: CSM: Who can force utilities to cut greenhouse gases? Supreme Court to decide.
347. 2011/04/18: PlanetArk: U.S. Utilities Push To Delay EPA Pollution Rules
348. 2011/04/18: WSJ: States Seek Greenhouse-Gas Curbs [courts]
     A battle over whether states can use nuisance laws to curb greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants will come to the Supreme Court Tuesday in a case that puts a twist on the debate over climate policy. The case pits a coalition of states against five of the nation's biggest power companies and the Obama administration, which has said it intends to curb greenhouse-gas emissions from big utilities but objects to the way the states want to do it. The arguments come amid a running dispute between the administration and members of Congress who want to block the Environmental Protection Agency's effort to regulate the carbon dioxide pumped out of power plant smokestacks as a hazardous pollutant under the Clean Air Act. At issue is whether a state can seek a federal court order to force power plants in another state to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to climate change on grounds that those emissions create a public nuisance.

The Obama chatter is nonstop:

349. 2011/04/24: BSD: EPA climate regulation, the budget, and Obama's nuanced-but-wrong view on climate lawsuits
350. 2011/04/23: EnergyBulletin: Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy sources, we need to invest in tomorrow's by President Barack Obama
351. 2011/04/21: PSinclair: About Damn Time. Obama calls out GOP Climate Deniers.
352. 2011/04/21: ClimateP: Obama calls out "climate change deniers in Congress" (sort of)

     The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

353. 2011/04/23: PeakEnergy: Blythe [California] solar thermal plant receives $2.1 billion loan guarantee [from DOE]
354. 2011/04/22: SF Gate: Gas-price spike sparks U.S. probe of oil traders
355. 2011/04/22: GreenGrok: EPA in the Crosshairs -- A Science Magazine Editorial
356. 2011/04/21: NatureTGB: White House science office reports mixed progress on integrity
357. 2011/04/19: Grist: USDA moves to let Monsanto perform its own environmental impact studies on GMOs
358. 2011/04/19: UCSUSA: Federal Agencies Scheduled to Report to White House This Week On Status of New Scientific Integrity Policies
359. 2011/04/18: Grist: The EPA chooses sprawl over urban sustainability

     As for what is going on in Congress:

360. 2011/04/23: ClimateP: Inhofe is a fracking denier
     Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OIL) claims hydraulic fracturing has "never" contaminated the water supply --- one day after spill contaminates stream.
361. 2011/04/20: BBickmore: My Second Reply to Senator Hatch
362. 2011/04/18: BBickmore: Orrin Hatch's Second Reply
363. 2011/04/20: ClimateP: [Rep.] Joe 'I am not a doctor' Barton (R-Tx) denies any "medical negative" for mercury, smog, and soot pollution

     What are the lobbyists pushing?

364. 2011/04/22: USAToday: BP, Transocean spending more on lobbying

     While in the UK:

365. 2011/04/23: BBC: London accounting companies battle to be the greenest
366. 2011/04/22: Guardian(UK): The coalition's pledge to be the greenest-ever government has faltered
367. 2011/04/21: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Red tape and the green agenda
368. 2011/04/19: OpenDem: Climate Rush risk arrest on train fares protest
369. 2011/04/19: Guardian(UK): One good thing can come of Mark Kennedy saga -- disbanding of ACPO
     The Association of Chief Police Officers allows police to act like Guardia Civil under Franco: for the powerful, against the public
370. 2011/04/19: Guardian(UK): Threat to Climate Change Act is final nail in coalition's green credentials
     It is nearly five years to the day since David Cameron posed for his photo opportunity with the huskies at the Arctic Research Station at Ny Alesund in Norway. He told us then to "vote blue, go green". That the government is open to scrapping all 227 of the UK's environmental protections shows just how far his green mask has slipped.
371. 2011/04/19: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Red tape review's threat to green laws and more
372. 2011/04/17: Guardian(UK): Environmental campaigners angry as green laws labelled as red tape
     All of Britain's 278 environment laws under review, including National Park, Clean Air and Climate Change Acts

And in Europe:

373. 2011/04/22: DerSpiegel: Transrapid Revival on the Canary Islands? Berlin Pushes Industry on High-Speed Maglev Rail
     Is the magnetic levitation Transrapid train making a comeback on the Canary Islands? German Transportation Minister Peter Ramsauer is enthusiastic about the high-speed monorail, but German manufacturers Siemens and ThyssenKrupp are showing little interest in such projects.
374. 2011/04/21: DerSpiegel: 'Germany Is on the Right Track' -- A Republican Environmentalist Finds Green Nirvana
     Republicans in the US have gained a reputation for being skeptical of any environmental legislation. But William K. Reilly, a former advisor to President George H. W. Bush, is an exception. In Berlin recently, he said he finds German efforts to transition to renewable energies "breathtaking."
375. 2011/04/21: DerSpiegel: The World from Berlin -- 'Greens Will Have to Give Way' on Stuttgart [-21] Redevelopment
     The newly triumphant Green Party in Baden-Württemberg has agreed to put a bitterly controversial train-station project up for popular vote. Greens and Social Democrats can't agree on the expensive renovation known as Stuttgart 21 -- but German commentators think the Greens have more to lose.
376. 2011/04/22: EurActiv: Bulgaria law aims to cool solar, wind energy surge
     Bulgaria approved a new law on renewable energy yesterday (21 April) that aims to cool a surge in solar and wind power projects that threatens to overwhelm its ageing power grid and boost electricity prices. The law changes the government's obligatory purchase of electricity produced from renewable energy generators at high, fixed prices, which has led to a jump in projects totalling over 6,000 megawatts -- well above the country's grid capacity. The centre-right government says that Bulgaria needs only 2,000 MW of new green energy generation to meet a target, which it committed to the European Union, of supplying 16 percent of its energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020.
377. 2011/04/20: DeSmogBlog: European Fracking Lobby Group Caught Peddling Bogus Report
378. 2011/04/20: Guardian(UK): Fossil fuel firms use 'biased' study in massive lobbying push
379. 2011/04/20: EurActiv: MEPs question cash-strapped ITER in light of Fukushima
380. 2011/04/20: NatureTGB: Serbian scientists campaign to save science ministry
381. 2011/04/19: DerSpiegel: Controversial New Law -- Germany Squanders Chance to Pioneer CO2 Capture Technology
382. 2011/04/19: DerSpiegel: Out of Gas -- E10 Debacle Puts the Brakes on Biofuels
     An attempt to introduce the biofuel mixture E10 in Germany has been a disaster, after motorists refused to buy the supposed green gasoline. Car makers, oil companies and politicians have all tried to blame each other for the mess. Even environmentalists oppose the new fuel.
383. 2011/04/20: DerSpiegel: Letter from Berlin -- Germany's Greens Divided in the Face of Responsibility
     For the first time in its history, Germany's Green Party is preparing to lead a state government. But far from basking in the glow of success, deep divides between party conservatives and ideological leftists are bubbling to the surface. Is the party ready for major political responsibility?
384. 2011/04/18: DerSpiegel: Electrical Resistance -- NIMBY Protests Threaten Germany's Energy Revolution
     In the aftermath of Fukushima, Germany is pushing ahead with a transition to renewable energy. The energy revolution will only work if massive new power lines are built across the country, but the "energy autobahns" are facing resistance from all sides.
385. 2011/04/19: EurActiv: Brussels warns Italy against slashing solar energy incentives
     The European Union's energy chief urged Italy to set up a clear and predictable support scheme for the solar energy sector and ensure stability for investors to avoid possible penalties.

Meanwhile in Australia:

386. 2011/04/21: ABC(Au): Solar win for Port Macquarie residents
     The collapse of a solar panel company DCM Green has affected more than 200 Port Macquarie residents. Local MP Leslie Williams says residents of the Dahlsford Grove Lifestyle Village have been left with rented solar panels, not connected to the grid. She says the Liquidator, PPB Advisory has now agreed to offer them one year's free rental if they pay for the meters to be installed. Ms Williams says they can connect the panels before June 30 and receive the highest benefits under the Government's Solar Bonus Scheme.
387. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): Predicted coastal erosion and flooding on the Coffs Harbour coastline has been outlined in a new study
388. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): Former vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, Ian Chubb, has been named Australia's new chief scientist
389. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): Job losses likely as wind farm owners split
     Hydro Tasmania is to end its Roaring 40s wind farm development joint venture with China Light and Power
390. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): The North East Forest Alliance is calling for an immediate moratorium on any further coal seam gas approvals in New South Wales
391. 2011/04/19: NatureTGB: Australia picks new chief scientist
     Two months after Australia's chief scientist Penny Sackett announced her surprise resignation, the government has found a replacement. Ian Chubb will be the country's new chief scientist from 23 May, on a three-year term.

The Australian carbon war rageth:

392. 2011/04/24: PeakEnergy: Australian renewable energy target needs some fine-tuning
393. 2011/04/21: ABC(Au):TDU: Carbon taxes Hunt and his high school debaters [Greg Combet]
394. 2011/04/21: ABC(Au):TDU: The carbon tax that ate Australia
395. 2011/04/21: ABC(Au): Carbon tax 'a scapegoat' for power bill rises
     The Climate Institute says a $25 per tonne carbon price would cost the average household less than $4 a week on its electricity bill.
396. 2011/04/20: ABC(Au): The Greens and Federal Labor are still at odds over how to divide up the revenue from the proposed carbon price, Greens deputy leader Christine Milne has confirmed
397. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): As the Government hammers out the details of its carbon tax, an environment group is urging it to tread carefully when considering the compensation demands from electricity generators
398. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): Businesses will have another chance to lobby the Federal Government for protection from the carbon tax when they sit down with Climate Change Minister Greg Combet in Canberra today
399. 2011/04/19: PlanetArk: Australian Carbon Scheme Faces Growing Opposition
400. 2011/04/18: ABC(Au): Union airs carbon price Latrobe Valley job fears
     The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) is meeting Latrobe Valley workers to discuss the Federal Government's plans to introduce a carbon price.
401. 2011/04/18: ABC(Au): Labor urges long-term view in carbon debate
     The Federal Government is confident it can win the increasingly difficult debate about its carbon tax despite a new opinion poll showing opposition to the plan is growing. Monday's Nielsen poll found 59 per cent of voters are against the next tax, which is three points up compared to last month.
402. 2011/04/18: ABC(Au): Greens leader Bob Brown says the Government must "hold its nerve" on the carbon tax in the face of more bad poll figures

     After a 10 year drought and recent massive flooding, water usage planning is controversial and difficult:

403. 2011/04/20: ABC(Au): Water Commission slams restrictions, price caps
     The federal agency charged with reviewing national water pricing says many consumers are still not paying the real cost of water delivery. The National Water Commission recommends independent regulators, rather than state governments, should determine the prices set.
404. 2011/04/20: ABC(Au): Inquiry hears of flood warning frustration
     There has been an outcry from the public gallery at Queensland's flood inquiry over the level of communication to residents about rising flood waters. A police sergeant's testimony that he assumed residents of a small rural town would access the internet for information earned him the rebuke. After harrowing testimony yesterday about lives lost in Toowoomba, the focus today shifted to protecting livelihoods and problems in communication and information flow. The inquiry was sitting in the Darling Downs town of Dalby - one of the first regions affected by Queensland's summer of disasters.

While in the Indian subcontinent:

405. 2011/04/19: BBC: India nuclear plant protests stepped up
     Crowds ransacked a hospital and set buses alight in a second day of violent protests against a planned nuclear power plant in western India.
406. 2011/04/19: CBC: Anti-nuclear mob ransacks hospital in India
     A mob opposing a government plan to build a nuclear plant in the western Indian state of Maharashtra ransacked a hospital and set buses on fire Tuesday during a protest strike. Residents of Jaitapur have been protesting the proposed plant since the government's plans became public four years ago. The opposition has grown since Japan's nuclear crisis, with critics noting that Jaitapur is in a seismic zone. The general strike was called after police fired to disperse protesters who attacked a police station Monday, killing one person.

And in China:

407. 2011/04/21: PI:B: The next five years for climate and energy action in China
408. 2011/04/23: BBC: Chinese authorities move to end lorry driver strike
409. 2011/04/21: Guardian(UK): China takes step towards tapping shale gas potential with first well
410. 2011/04/21: BBC: Lorry drivers protest over fuel costs in Shanghai
411. 2011/04/18: Guardian(UK): China's low-carbon leadership headlines fail to capture the reality

     And in Japan:

412. 2011/04/20: JEB: Filling the power vacuum in Japan

     In Canada, climate change has barely been mentioned in the May 2nd election campaign:

413. 2011/04/24: DeepClimate: 2011 Canadian election: The other debate
414. 2011/04/21: Tyee: Biggest Silent Election Issue: Oil's Erosion of Canada -- Petro wealth is fouling our country's character, as it did many others'
415. 2011/04/21: CleanBreak: Mulroney: "If the prime minister isn't driving the file then nothing is going to happen"
416. 2011/04/18: PI:B: Video: CBC town hall discussion on Canada's energy future
417. 2011/04/18: PI: Election 2011 survey on the environment -- Where do the main political parties stand on environmental issues?
418. 2011/04/18: PI: Eco-survey 2011 shows voters what political parties would do to protect the environment -- Four parties respond to survey and one doesn't
419. 2011/04/21: PI: Environmental protection key to promoting strong economy, prosperous families and individual health: green leaders
420. 2011/04/21: CBC: Tories defunding Planned Parenthood, MP says
     [Brad Trost told the Saskatchewan ProLife Association's annual convention last Saturday that the federal government has decided to cut funding to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.] A Saskatchewan Conservative candidate says the federal government has decided to cut funding to the International Planned Parenthood Federation, a decision he says was influenced by anti-abortion supporters.
421. 2011/04/19: SEasterbrook: YPV: Young People Voting
422. 2011/04/18: PostMedia: May tells Albertans: 'You're greener than you think' -- Green party leader is greeted by 100 supporters in Edmonton
423. 2011/04/17: CK: Mulroney at odds with Harper's lapdog leadership on environmental file

     The G20 controversy lingers:

424. 2011/04/22: CO2Art: Royal Wedding Security to Cost $860,000,000 Less than G20 Toronto Security
425. 2011/04/20: CBC: Liberals call for probe into Tory G8 spending

     Who do the Tories listen to?

426. 2011/04/18: WCEL: Environmentalists outgunned by oil industry lobbyists -- Oil industry and conservatives: more than 1100 meetings in three years

     The Tories are doing their best to neuter scientific discovery:

427. 2011/04/19: NatureN: Canadian research shift makes waves
     Agency's focus on industry-driven projects raises concerns that basic science will suffer. Canada's largest research entity has a new focus -- and some disaffected scientists. On 1 April, the National Research Council (NRC), made up of more than 20 institutes and programmes with a total annual budget larger than Can$1 billion (US$1 billion), switched to a funding strategy that downplays basic research in favour of programmes designed to attract industry partners and generate revenue. Some researchers suggest that the shift is politically driven, because it brings the agency into philosophical alignment with the governing Conservative Party of Canada, which is in the middle of an election campaign.

Canada & Earth Day:

428. 2011/04/21: CBC: Canada's Earth Day assessment -- A look at our record on energy consumption, pollution
429. 2011/04/22: CBC: Fracking protest marks Halifax Earth Day

     Another report card:

430. 2011/04/17: SEasterbrook:KaitlinCarroll: Canada's Climate Change Report Card

     The Prairie provinces are flooding extensively:

431. 2011/04/23: CBC: Manitoba flood threat grows -- Hundreds poised to flee Roseau River First Nation
432. 2011/04/22: CBC: Flood prevention consumes Man. communities -- Saskatchewan breathes easier as weather cuts flows
     Residents of St. Lazare, Man., are bracing for a peak in the Qu'Appelle River as the worst of the spring flooding is expected to hit late Friday or Saturday -- some of the latest efforts to stem water woes in parts of the Prairies.
433. 2011/04/21: CBC: Prairie floods displace 1,000 as storms move east
     Nearly 1,000 people have been displaced across Canada's Prairie provinces by rising rivers threatening to spill over their banks. In Manitoba, some 866 people have been forced from their homes because the Souris, Assiniboine and Red rivers have spilled over their banks in some places. Most evacuations have been precautionary, as officials are more worried about roads being washed out, which would isolate people who may need assistance. More than 500 municipal roads are affected by flooding, which officials say is far more widespread than the last bad flood in 2009. There have been 32 states of local emergency declared, compared to 16 in 2009. Rivers in the region are always full this time of year as the snow melts, but officials say water levels are at some of the highest levels since record-keeping began.
434. 2011/04/21: PlanetArk: Flooding Forces CP Rail To Reroute Manitoba Trains
435. 2011/04/20: CBC: Prairies flood fears see no relief
     More than 1,000 people in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have been forced from their homes as flood waters continue to rise, with concerns that the Assiniboine and Red rivers could crest at the same time in Winnipeg. Both are expected to crest in late April to early May, CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said.
436. 2011/04/19: CBC: Prairie flooding needs permanent fix: Native leaders
437. 2011/04/18: CBC: Prairie flood picture worsens
     Manitoba officials were working quickly Monday to build higher dikes along the Assiniboine River, while their counterparts in Saskatchewan warned that flooding will remain a threat for the rest of the month. For the past week, much of the Prairie provinces has been flooded or in danger of being so, with parts of the region seeing the highest water levels in 150 years. About 700 people in Manitoba have already been forced from their homes, dozens of roads have been closed, and officials are urging more vigilance.
438. 2011/04/17: CBC: Prairie floods keep officials vigilant

     The Cohen Commission on missing Fraser River salmon is still plugging along:

439. Cohen Commission -- Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River
440. 2011/04/21: G&M: Fraser salmon collapse part of much larger decline, study finds
     The shocking collapse of sockeye stocks in the Fraser River in 2009 was not an isolated event, but was part of a long downward trend in salmon productivity spread over a large area, from Alaska to Washington State, a new scientific study concludes. "This observation that productivity has followed shared trends over a much larger area than just the Fraser River system is a very important new finding," states the report, filed Wednesday with a federal commission investigating the decline of sockeye in the Fraser.

The BC Liberals chose Clark, the NDP chose Dix, now what?

441. 2011/04/17: CBC: Adrian Dix wins B.C. NDP leadership -- Dix, 47, becomes the province's opposition leader
442. 2011/04/21: Straight: Vancouver lays groundwork for carbon-neutral buildings
443. 2011/04/19: PostMedia: Carbon credits could be a billion-dollar industry -- Most B.C. projects are forestry-related, says a sustainability expert
     British Columbia has a bank of carbon credits already approved for sale that adds up to over $1 billion once a promised cap-and-trade system is established by the Western Climate Initiative, says the Sauder School of Business ISIS research centre. The $1 billion credit has essentially created a new export industry for the province, ISIS executive director James Tansey said in an interview Monday.
444. 2011/04/18: CBC: Northwest Transmission Line gets First Nation's approval
     Members of a Northern B.C. First Nation voted overwhelmingly in favour of BC Hydro's Northwest Transmission Line project, which is expected to open up the region to increased resource development. About 800 members of the Tahltan Nation voted 82 per cent in favour of the project over the weekend, ratifying a series of agreements with BC Hydro and the provincial government, including promises of consultations, revenue sharing, and environmental protection. The Northwest Transmission Line will run about 350 kilometres north of Terrace alongside Highway 37, and should be completed by the end of 2013.

Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

445. 2011/04/23: PeakEnergy: The Dirty Feedback loop Between Shale Gas And Tar Sands
446. 2011/04/19: VanObs: The Big Grab Part 1: Knock, knock. The low-carbon future is here
     As ordinary Canadians dig deep to ease their footprint, Alberta's oil sands pollution negates their sacrifice
447. 2011/04/18: CBC: Roadblocks stymie massive oilsands load

     And in Saskatchewan:

448. 2011/04/19: CBC: Alleged leak of CO2 at Sask. farm to be probed

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

449. 2011/04/21: CBC: Solar power interest grows in Ontario -- Feed-in tariff program pays households for power

     In the Maritimes:

450. 2011/04/21: DeSmogBlog: New Brunswick Energy Commission Recommends Expanding Unconventional Gas Development Despite Fracking Threat To Climate
451. 2011/04/19: CBC: Power surge blows meters off Saint John homes
452. 2011/04/18: CBC: $15M natural gas project for P.E.I.

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

453. 2011/04/21: EnergyBulletin: Is the world too big to fail? by Noam Chomsky
454. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: Reorienting the Economy is a Challenge That can be Overcome by Lester Brown
455. 2011/04/18: GreenFyre: Love, blood and rhetoric

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

456. 2011/04/22: DailyMail(UK): We must halt the explosion in population to offer decent life for all, says Sir David Attenborough
457. 2011/04/21: CBC: Tories defunding Planned Parenthood, MP says

     As for how the media handles science:

458. 2011/04/22: ClimateP: How Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. cashes in on both sides of the climate fight
459. 2011/04/19: APR: Western vs. Japanese reporting....
460. 2011/04/19: KSJT: Miami Herald - A big metro sends a reporter to Ecuador, to check out Chevron's drilling practices

     I don't know what to make of this. We'll see what Hiatt does in the future:

461. 2011/04/21: ClimateP: Fred Hiatt back to running climate and energy disinformation from the likes of Bjorn Lomborg
462. 2011/04/17: ERabett: Worm Turning Time [Hiatt editorial]
463. 2011/04/15: WaPo: On climate change, the GOP is lost in never-never land [by Fred Hiatt ?!]

     And for your film & video enjoyment:

464. 2011/04/23: PSinclair: In Texas: Nukes Out, Wind In
465. 2011/04/22: AutoBG: Earth Day gets its Revenge (of the Electric Car) in New York City
466. 2011/04/18: PI:B: Video: CBC town hall discussion on Canada's energy future
467. 2011/04/18: GreenGrok: Definitely Not the Pits: Our Pick for Best Enviro Doc at Full Frame
468. 2011/04/20: ClimateP: Hansen et al concludes "the rate of sea level rise is likely to accelerate during the next several years."
469. 2011/04/21: NatureTGB: VIDEO: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis
470. 2011/04/19: PSinclair: Scott Mandia: More Warming, More Severe Weather
471. 2011/04/19: GreenFyre: A Fierce Greenfyre ;-)
472. 2011/04/18: HotTopic: Alley's documentary: upbeat and optimistic
473. 2011/04/18: PSinclair: Powershift Keynote Speech: Tim DeChristopher
474. 2011/04/17: GreenFyre: "Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth"

     Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

475. 2011/04/22: DeSmogBlog: Lawsuits Fly And Fizzle To Mark Anniversary Of Deepwater Horizon Explosion
476. 2011/04/20: CBC: BP sues rig owner for $40B
477. 2011/04/20: BBC: BP sues Cameron [International] and Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean
478. 2011/04/20: CBC: Baffinland ex-shareholders launch [C$800 million] lawsuit -- Takeover documents had omissions, misstatements, lawsuit claims
479. 2011/04/20: PlanetArk: Judge Dismisses Firm's Lawsuit Against Chevron
     Chevron Corp will not have to face accusations from a prominent U.S. law firm that the oil major mounted a "smear campaign" related to long-running environmental battles in Ecuador, a U.S. judge has ruled. Patton Boggs, a Washington D.C.-based firm representing Ecuadorean plaintiffs suing Chevron, had filed a separate lawsuit saying the company had tried to improperly interfere with its ability to represent the clients. A judge in Ecuador's Amazon in February ruled against Chevron, demanding that the company pay $8.6 billion for contamination from petroleum drilling in the 1970s and 1980s by Texaco, which was later purchased by the giant U.S. oil company. Chevron appealed that ruling. The company has also launched a series of separate legal proceedings in a bid to make any judgment unenforceable outside of Ecuador.

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

480. 2011/04/24: APSmith: Some numbers: energy and disasters
481. 2011/04/23: QuarkSoup: Energy Use By Data Centers
482. 2011/04/22: Grist: Chart of the day: the U.S. energy mix in 2035
483. 2011/04/21: ABC(Au):TDU: The base-load myth
484. 2011/04/23: OilDrum: Assessing the energy implications of political intervention
485. 2011/04/22: CleanBreak: Temporal Power brings new spin to flywheel energy storage
486. 2011/04/22: PRWatch: Media Ignores Energy Breakthrough: Worry-Free Nuclear Power [Rossi & Focardi Energy Catalyzer]
487. 2011/03/11: CBC: How the world makes and consumes electricity
488. 2011/04/21: NakedCapitalism: WashingtonsBlog: It's Not Just Alternative Energy Versus Fossil Fuels or Nuclear -- Energy Has to Become DECENTRALIZED
489. 2011/04/20: Eureka: New battery produces electricity where freshwater meets saltwater
490. 2011/04/14: SFEN: Smil, Energy, Nitrogen, Terawatts, and Inevitable Solar
491. 2011/04/19: BPA: The U.S. and Canada: Guilty as Charged in Per Capita Energy Consumption
492. 2011/04/18: Grist: Germans pay extra for clean energy -- is it worth it?

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

493. 2011/04/23: DeSmogBlog: Congressional Democrats Warn of Gas Fracking Dangers
494. 2011/04/23: ClimateP: Inhofe is a fracking denier
     Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OIL) claims hydraulic fracturing has "never" contaminated the water supply --- one day after spill contaminates stream.
495. 2011/04/20: Tyee: Truth Comes out on 'Fracking' Toxins -- Who finally tells us the nasty chemicals used for shale gas drilling in Western Canada? The US Congress.
496. 2011/04/23: PeakEnergy: The Dirty Feedback loop Between Shale Gas And Tar Sands
497. 2011/04/21: ProPublica: Natural Gas Drilling Is at a Crucial Turning Point
498. 2011/04/21: TreeHugger: Pennsylvania Fracking Well Blows Out, Spewing Salt Water & Drilling Fluid
499. 2011/04/21: BBC: South Africa halts Shell's Karoo gas plans
     South Africa's government has halted plans by the oil firm Shell to extract natural gas from the Karoo desert by using a method known as "fracking".
500. 2011/04/21: DeSmogBlog: New Brunswick Energy Commission Recommends Expanding Unconventional Gas Development Despite Fracking Threat To Climate
501. 2011/04/21: Guardian(UK): China takes step towards tapping shale gas potential with first well
     Drilling in Sichuan deemed a success as China seeks to emulate US's adoption of costly and controversial technique
502. 2011/04/21: DeSmogBlog: Cue the 'Junk Shot': Chesapeake Ready to Cram Plastic and Tires Into Fracking Blowout in PA
503. 2011/04/21: ABC(Au): A natural gas well spilled thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracking drilling fluid water in the US state of Pennsylvania after a blowout, state and local regulators said
504. 2011/04/21: PlanetArk: Chesapeake [Energy] Natgas Fracking Well Spills Water In Pennsylvania
505. 2011/04/21: Grist: Yesterday's fracking blowout: What happened, and will it happen again?
506. 2011/04/21: TreeHugger: More Fracking Problems: Surface Blowouts at Gas Wells Likely to Increase
507. 2011/04/20: DeSmogBlog: European Fracking Lobby Group Caught Peddling Bogus Report
508. 2011/04/21: TruthOut: Fracking Blowout Causes Massive Spill in Pennsylvania
509. 2011/04/18: ProPublica: Fracking Chemicals Cited in Congressional Report Stay Underground
510. 2011/04/20: DailyKos: "Massive" Fracking Blowout spill in PA
511. 2011/04/20: DeSmogBlog: Pennsylvania Fracking Spill A Haunting Reminder on BP Anniversary
512. 2011/04/20: Guardian(UK): Fossil fuel firms use 'biased' study in massive lobbying push
513. 2011/04/20: Guardian(UK): Shale gas fracking -- Q&A
514. 2011/04/19: DeSmogBlog: Gas Industry Admits Water Contamination in Pennsylvania, Drillers Told To Stop Fracking Wastewater Delivery To POTWs
515. 2011/04/19: ABC(Au): The North East Forest Alliance is calling for an immediate moratorium on any further coal seam gas approvals in New South Wales
516. 2011/04/17: CSM: New warning of poisonous chemicals in natural gas 'hydrofracking'
517. 2011/04/17: EnergyBulletin: Shale gas: the problem with EROEI

     On the coal front:

518. 2011/04/21: Guardian(UK): How to succeed in business without really succeeding [former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship]
519. 2011/04/20: ENS: Georgia Court Rejects Air Permit for New Coal-Fired Power Plant
520. 2011/04/18: CDreams: Big Coal's Dirty Secret: Breakthrough New Study on Longwall Mining Regulatory Failure and Ruin in Pennsylvania

     On the gas and oil front:

521. 2011/04/23: AutoBG: API: U.S. demand for gas surges in March
522. 2011/04/23: EconBrowser: Saudi oil production and the Libyan conflict
523. 2011/04/23: PeakEnergy: Disquieting Saudi Oil Indicators and the Next Oil Shock
524. 2011/04/21: BBerg: Closing oil prices Thursday (closed Good Friday)
     OIL (US$/bbl)
     Nymex Crude Future..112.29
     Dated Brent Spot....124.21
     WTI Cushing Spot....111.71
525. 2011/04/22: NBF: IEA reports that world oil supply rose to an alltime high of 89 million barrels per day in February 2011
526. 2011/04/22: MoJo: Raw Data: Everyone Loves Oil [Price elasticity stats]
527. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: The Oil We Don't Spill Is More Ecologically Damaging Than The Oil We Do Spill
528. 2011/04/17: EconBrowser: Brent-WTI spread -- The puzzling differential between the price of oil in different markets seems to be persisting

     Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

529. 2011/04/19: EnergyBulletin: The peak oil crisis: killing off the recovery
530. 2011/04/18: OilDrum: Will the decline in world oil supply be fast or slow?

     Biofuel bickering abounds:

531. 2011/04/21: ERW: Biofuels transport targets are unethical, inquiry finds
532. 2011/04/18: MLynas: Europe continues ill-advised rush to biofuels
533. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: Palm Oil Lobby Fights World Bank's Environmental Initiatives in Indonesia, Malaysia
534. 2011/04/20: AutoBG: Ethanol shortage in Brazil causing prices to soar
535. 2011/04/19: DerSpiegel: Out of Gas -- E10 Debacle Puts the Brakes on Biofuels

     The answer my friend...:

536. 2011/04/20: BNC: Energy debates in Wonderland by Jon Boone
537. 2011/04/19: TreeHugger: Google Invests $100m in What Will be the World's Largest Wind Farm (845 MW)
538. 2011/04/19: PeakEnergy: Australian wind power, built by China
539. 2011/04/19: PeakEnergy: Google Chasing The Wind
540. 2011/04/18: SBO: Google pumps $100M into Shepherds Flat wind farm

     Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

541. 2011/04/23: TreeHugger: Through Solar Mosaic, Oakland is Reducing Emissions, Creating Green Jobs, and Building Community (Video)
542. 2011/04/23: PeakEnergy: Blythe [California] solar thermal plant receives $2.1 billion loan guarantee [from DOE]
543. 2011/04/22: CleanBreak: Do solar PV panels add value to your home? The U.S. Department of Energy thinks so
544. 2011/04/22: NBF: First Polymer Solar-Thermal Device 30 percent efficiency in converting solar energy to power
545. 2011/04/22: PSinclair: Solar Roofs Pump House Values in California

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

546. 2011/04/23: TreeHugger: Feed-In Tariffs for Apartment Solar Rooftops Light Up LA's Energy Plan
547. 2011/04/22: EurActiv: Bulgaria law aims to cool solar, wind energy surge
548. 2011/04/21: CBC: Solar power interest grows in Ontario -- Feed-in tariff program pays households for power

     The nuclear energy controversy continues:

549. 2011/04/21: MLynas: Time for the Green Party -- and the Guardian -- to ditch anti-nuclear quackery
550. 2011/04/20: APR: South Texas 3 and 4 now NO GO

     More people are talking about the electrical grid:

551. 2011/04/22: TreeHugger: 6 Trends Shaping The Smart Grid
552. 2011/04/22: DerSpiegel: Switching to Renewables -- Germany Explores Using Train Lines as a Power Grid
     Germany's increased emphasis on renewable energies requires an all-new power grid. Now, many in Berlin are wondering if the grid powering the country's train system could be used to transport wind power from the north to the south. Some say it could save up to 75 percent of expected costs.
553. 2011/04/18: DerSpiegel: Electrical Resistance -- NIMBY Protests Threaten Germany's Energy Revolution

     And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

554. 2011/04/19: Eureka: LED efficiency puzzle solved by UC Santa Barbara theorists
555. 2011/04/18: AutoBG: Countdown to Earth Day: How weight affects a vehicle's fuel efficiency
556. 2011/04/18: TreeHugger: 95% Data-Center Cooling Energy Reduction Thanks to Fluid-Submerged Servers

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

557. 2011/04/19: ENS: U.S. Offers $5 Million to Advance Electric Vehicles
558. 2011/04/19: NBF: Forecast of 138 million electric motorcycles and electric scooters by 2017
559. 2011/04/18: NewsTrib: Electric vehicles gaining steam in South Sound
     Just as gas is approaching $4 a gallon, a few trailblazers are turning to the cutting edge of auto technology: the electric vehicle. Government agencies and a small number of individual drivers are first in line for electric cars in the South Sound. But at the moment, the vehicles are in short supply -- as are the charging stations that extend their range.
560. 2011/04/18: AutoBG: So many electric vehicle start-ups - which will survive?

     The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

561. 2011/04/21: Guardian(UK): Apple named 'least green' tech company
     Greenpeace report puts Apple at bottom of green league table due to reliance on coal at data centres

Meanwhile in the greenwashing chronicles:

562. 2011/04/22: TreeHugger: NY Times Says Green Sales Are Down, But Misses the Real Point

     Who's fielding the FAQs?

563. 2011/04/21: Guardian(UK): Which nations are most responsible for climate change?

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

564. 2011/04/22: ClimateP: April 22 News...
565. 2011/04/21: ClimateP: April 21 news...
566. 2011/04/20: ClimateP: April 20 News...
567. 2011/04/19: ClimateP: April 19 News...
568. 2011/04/18: ClimateP: April 18 News...

     Other (weekly) lists:

569. 2011/04/23: HotTopic: Something(s) for the long weekend
570. 2011/04/21: CCentral: This Week in Climate Science: Green Psychology, Public Health, and Biofuels
571. 2011/04/20: TreeHugger: The Best Writing on the BP Oil Spill
572. 2011/04/18: BPA: Agriculture News

     The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

573. 2011/04/22: WottsUWT: Not Whether, but How to Do The Math
574. 2011/04/22: WottsUWT: The greens worst nightmare? A CO2 to Oil process
575. 2011/04/20: UDW: Miami Herald Catches Chevron in Lie about Ecuador Well Site
     Reporter finds oil sludge in "remediated" pit that's part of Chevron's fraud, plaintiffs say
576. 2011/04/19: KSJT: Miami Herald - A big metro sends a reporter to Ecuador, to check out Chevron's drilling practices
577. 2011/04/20: WottsUWT: Face palm: EPA bureaucrat tap dances during testimony
578. 2011/04/19: MeltFactor: selective science = pseudo-science
579. 2011/04/20: GreenFyre: Climate change denial, between a Koch and a hard place
580. 2011/04/19: GPalast: BP's Secret Deepwater Blowout [in the Caspian]
581. 2011/04/18: MoJo: The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science [CCM]
582. 2011/04/18: TCoE: The fierce insanity of us
583. 2011/04/17: MTobis: Astro Turf Wars
584. 2011/04/17: DeSmogBlog: Don't Be Fooled: Fossil Fools Fund Latest Climate Skeptic Petition

     As for climate miscellanea:

585. 2011/04/24: HotTopic: Four years on...
586. 2011/04/21: MTobis: Mosher's Team
587. 2011/04/20: MTobis: Not that kind of conservative
588. 2011/04/20: ClimateSight: Where Activism Fails
589. 2011/04/19: Guardian(UK): Hypocrisy of champagne environmentalists is deceitful and distracting
590. 2011/04/19: SMandia: New Web Site: www.shapingtomorrowsworld.org
591. 2011/04/18: Eureka: Climate change psychology: Coping and creating solutions -- Studies provide insight for prevention and adaptation
592. 2011/04/17: Guardian(UK): Energy saving just got erotic -- Amorous couple on hot date push Friends of the Earth's message in Nuts magazine

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

593. State of Arctic Coasts 2010
594. OurWorld 2.0
595. A&LUF: Agriculture & Land Use Forum
596. Research Blogging
597. Cohen Commission -- Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River
598. Fires at PK
599. Possum Kingdom Fire Report
600. Carl Safina
601. SFEN: Signs From Earth Notes
602. STW: Shaping Tomorrow's World
603. Solve Climate
604. TDC: The Daily Climate
605. C&C: Climate and Capitalism -- Ecosocialism or Barbarism: There is no third way
606. 2009/04/21: NOAA: The NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI)
607. Science: Science Now
608. Science: Science Insider
609. Science News

     ---

     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.

     ---

     "Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." -M. King Hubbert

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