Another Week of GW News, February 24, 2013

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H. E. Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup

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Another Week of Climate Disruption News

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

February 24, 2013

• Chuckles, JODTAA, COP19+, Bowman vs. Monsanto, Vaks, Warnings, Maldives, Tesla
• Bottom Line, Subsidies, WB, Pricing Nature, Thermodynamics, Cook, Meteorologists
• Fukushima Note, Fukushima News, Nuclear Policy
• Melting Arctic, Polar Bears, Geopolitics
• Food Crisis, Fisheries, SRI, Land Grabs, GMOs, Food Production
• Hurricanes, Notable Weather, Extreme Weather, New Weather
• GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Temperatures, Aerosols, Ozone, Paleoclimate, Attribution
• Biosphere, Extinctions, Bees & CCD, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Climate Refugees, Wildfires, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Conservation, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Free Science, Hansen, Pielke, Lindzen
• International Politics: UN, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Hormuz, South China Sea, Airlines, Resources
• Solar Spat, Misc, Security, Law & Activism, Activism, Polls, H2O Biz, Groundwater, Predictions
• National Politics: Britain, Europe, Australia, CSG, Election, MDBP, India, China, Japan, South America
• Canada, Idle No More, Muzzling Scientists, Muzzling Illegal?, Tory Green PR
• Liberals, East-West, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Sask, Ontario, Canadiana
• America, BP Disaster, Keystone, FoC, Birth Control, Coal Exports, Monnett, Obama, USAdmin, Congress, Lobbyists
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Video, Courts
• Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Oil & the Economy, Pipelines, Energy Independence, US Tar Sands
• Peak Oil, Biofuel, Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Fusion, LENR, Grid, Cars, Energy Storage
• Business, Insurance, FAQs, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Donors Trust, Misc. Climate, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, A Simple Plea, .sig

Here's a wee chuckle for ye:

• 2013/02/21: JoeMohrToons: (cartoon - Mohr) Climate Change is Coming Early This Year
• 2013/02/23: PSinclair: Bumper Sticker of the Week
• 2013/02/19: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Progress on Climate
  

  Just one damned thing after another!

• 2013/02/23: ABC(Au): Train passengers trapped in wild weather for 17hrs
  About 100 passengers were trapped on a train in wild weather for nearly 17 hours in northern New South Wales. A destructive low pressure system has dumped heavy rain on the region and whipped up strong winds. The Countrylink XPT service from Sydney to Casino was interrupted overnight at Coramba, about 10 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour, by fallen trees on the railway line. Railway workers removed the blockage, but the train encountered floodwater about 30 kilometres north near Glenreagh. As it reversed back to Coffs Harbour it was stopped for a third time by a landslide. The site was too remote for buses to reach. An excavator eventually cleared the debris and weary travellers arrived in Coffs Harbour just before midday today (AEDT).
• 
  

  Looking ahead to COP19 and future international climate negotiations:

   

• 2013/02/22: RTCC: Pablo Solon: we need a new strategy at UN climate change talks
  In the last 20 years, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world have, instead of declining, increased, by more than a third. In 1990, GHG emissions were 37 Gigatons (Gt) of CO2e. In 2010, they surpassed 50 GtCO2e. At this rate, if business-as-usual continues, global emissions can reach 58 GtCO2e by 2020, which would be a catastrophe for humanity and nature.
• 2013/02/22: RTCC: UN climate talks host Poland to accelerate shale gas push
• 2013/02/21: PSalon: Climate Space: What went wrong in the Global Climate Negotiations?
• 2013/02/21: CCurrents: What Went Wrong In The Global Climate Negotiations?
• 2013/02/18: RTCC: Climate justice set to dominate UNFCCC talks in 2013
  

  The Bowman vs. Monsanto suit is the latest attempt to knock some sense into the corporate class:

• 2013/02/21: DemNow: Bowman v. Monsanto: Indiana Farmer's Supreme Court Challenge to Corporate Control of Food Supply
• 2013/02/24: al Jazeera: In the ring: Monsanto and the farmer
  The court will resist Bowman, as it granted seed firms the right to limit farmers' ability to save the patented seeds.
• 2013/02/18: NPR: Farmer's Fight With Monsanto Reaches The Supreme Court
• 2013/02/18: Time: Is It a Crime to Plant a Seed?
• 2013/02/19: AP: High court seems to favor Monsanto in patent case
• SCOTUSBlog: Bowman v. Monsanto Co. [History & links]
• 2013/02/18: SCOTUSBlog: [Bowman v. Monsanto Co.] Argument preview: Stakes are high in dispute over rights to genetically modified seeds
• 2013/02/19: ArsTechnica: Farmer's Supreme Court fight to limit Monsanto seed patents looks bleak
• 2013/02/18: NYRB: Can They Patent Your Genes?
  

  It has been distressing to see politicians and journalists treat the 2C goal as an arbitrary number with no physical significance. Perhaps this Vaks et al. paper will alert them to the danger of large scale feedbacks:

   

• 2013/02/21: Science: (ab$) Speleothems Reveal 500,000-Year History of Siberian Permafrost by A. Vaks et al.
• 2013/02/22: Grist: Permafrost is even less perma than we thought
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Siberian stalactites point to permafrost thaw
• 2013/02/22: BBC: Siberian permafrost thaw warning sparked by cave data
  Evidence from Siberian caves suggests that a global temperature rise of 1.5C could see permafrost thaw over a large area of Siberia.
• 2013/02/22: DerSpiegel: Melting Permafrost: Scientists Warn of Dangers of Trapped Carbon
  Research published Thursday in the journal Science says that even slightly warmer temperatures could start melting permafrost, which in turn threatens to trigger the release of huge amounts of greenhouse gases trapped in ice.
• 2013/02/21: CCentral: Nearing a Tipping Point on Melting Permafrost?
• 2013/02/21: CSM: Slight warming could mean big permafrost thaw, say scientists
• 2013/02/21: SciAm: Siberian Caves Reveal Advancing Permafrost Thaw
  Melting of significant portions of Arctic permafrost could accelerate climate change into a catastrophe
• 2013/02/21: SimpleC: Cave deposits reveal permafrost concern
• 2013/02/21: TMoS: 1.5C Enough to Unleash the Permafrost Greenhouse Gases
• 2013/02/21: Guardian(UK): 1.5C rise in temperature enough to start permafrost melt, scientists warn
  

  What do we have for warnings this week?

• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): Head of IPCC says most vulnerable countries have already reached 'tipping point'
  The chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is warning that some parts of the world are already at the tipping point for dangerous climate change. Dr Rajendra Pachauri is in Melbourne as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finalises its first major report on climate change since 2007.
• 2013/02/17: CCentral: Ex-IPCC Head [Bob Watson]: Prepare for 5°C Warmer World
• 2013/02/17: P3: [Robert] Watson: 2 C is behind us. Can we avoid 3? 5?
  

  In the Maldives, the Nasheed saga rolls on. One report says he has an immunity deal; the other says no. Which is true?

• 2013/02/23: BBC: Ex-Maldives president Nasheed leaves Indian mission
  Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has left the Indian High Commission in the capital, Male. Mr Nasheed took refuge there 10 days ago after a court ordered his arrest for failing to appear to face charges of abuse of power. He did not explain why he left the embassy, and a government spokesman warned the case against him was still pending.
• 2013/02/23: al Jazeera: Maldives ex-president leaves Indian embassy
  Mohamed Nasheed exits Indian embassy in capital Male, 10 days after seeking refuge there in bid to avoid arrest.
  [...]
  It was reported that Nasheed had come to an agreement with the authorities that would pave the way for him to be able to stand in the upcoming presidential elections despite the allegations.
• 
  

  The Broder vs. Musk pissing match dribbles on:

   

• 2013/02/24: S&R: Elon Musk dusts up with the doubters
• 2013/02/22: KSJT: NYTimes's Public Editor's wrist slap at enviro writer's scathing review of electric Tesla sedan left out in the cold
• 2013/02/22: CSM: Tesla Motors vs. New York Times: what it says about decarbonizing transportation
• 2013/02/21: AutoBG: Tesla's Elon Musk offers "final" thoughts on NYT spat, but Twitter flames continue
• 2013/02/21: TP:JR: Public Editor Slams NY Times Tesla Story, After Overcoming 'Confirmation Bias'
• 2013/02/20: TreeHugger: Tesla vs. New York Times: Epilogue
• 2013/02/19: AutoBG: New York Times admits Tesla Model S writer didn't use "good judgment"
• 2013/02/18: AutoBG: Tesla Model S road trip drivers find success along NYT's failed drive route [w/video]
  

  And on the Bottom Line:

• 2013/02/18: TP:JR: Fossil Fuel-Generated Energy Has Real External Costs
• 2013/02/17: Guardian(UK): Filipino super-typhoon an ominous warning of climate change impact
  Philippines is having to adapt and adjust to rapidly deteriorating climatic trends at a great cost to its economy
• 
  

  Who's getting the subsidies, tax exemptions, loan guarantees, grants...?

   

• 2013/02/22: Grist: Pipeline companies will get a $7 billion tax break through 2016
• 2013/02/21: BBerg: U.S. Quadruples Pipeline Tax Break Cost to $7 Billion
  A tax break used by oil and gas pipeline companies such as Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) will cost the U.S. government $7 billion through 2016, about four times more than previously estimated, Congress's tax scorekeepers said this month.
• 
  

  What's the World Bank up to?

   

• 2013/02/18: RTCC: World Bank: climate change hurting global economy
• 2013/02/17: TMoS: Another Day, Another Warning, This Time from the World Bank
• 2013/02/17: PhysOrg: Climate change real economic risk, World Bank tells G20
  The president of the World Bank on Saturday warned the finance chiefs of the world's leading economic powers that global warming is a real risk to the planet and already affecting the world economy in unprecedented ways.
• 
  

  So, If we put a price on nature, will it deal with externalities and lead to greater conservation
  or will it lead to greater exploitation or what?

   

• 2013/02/21: C-R: Paying Ecuador to Protect the Rainforest
  

  Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

• 2013/02/21: TSoD: Wonderland, Radiative Forcing and the Rate of Inflation
  

  John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

• 2013/02/23: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #8 by John Hartz
• 2013/02/23: SkS: 2013 SkS News Bulletin #1: Alberta Tar Sands, Keystone XL Pipeline, and Forward on Climate Rally by John Hartz
• 2013/02/22: SkS: Why Choose One Textbook for Introductory Climate Change Science Courses? by rockytom
• 2013/02/21: SkS: Low emissions are no justification for Kansas scaling back renewables by dana1981
• 2013/02/20: SkS: 2013 Arctic Sea Ice Extent Prediction by dana1981, Dikran Marsupial
• 2013/02/20: SkS: In Wall Street Journal op-ed, Bjorn Lomborg urges delay with misleading stats by dana1981
• 2013/02/19: SkS: Reconciling Two New Cloud Feedback Papers by dana1981
• 2013/02/18: SkS: Geologic Time and Climate Change Science by rockytom
• 2013/02/17: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly Digest #7 by John Hartz
  

  TV Meteorologists typically follow the corporate media line, but ...

• 2013/02/19: NPR: Forecasting Climate With A Chance Of Backlash
  

  A note on theFukushima disaster:

  It is evident that the Fukushima disaster is going to persist for some time. TEPCO says 6 to 9 months. The previous Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said decades. Now the Japanese government is talking about 30 years. [Whoops, that has now been updated to 40 years.] We'll see. At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon and deserves its own section.
  Meanwhile...
  It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima. Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information. One has to evaluate both the content and the source of propagated information.
  How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?
  Do they have an agenda?
  Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?
  Do they want to write a good news story?
  Do they want to write a bad news story?
  Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?
  Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?
  One fundamental question I would like to see answered:
  If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?

• 
  

  Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

   

• 2013/02/11: ACS: (ab$) Radiocesium in Pacific Bluefin Tuna Thunnus orientalis in 2012 Validates New Tracer Technique by Daniel J. Madigan et al.
• 2013/02/22: Mainichi: Fukushima radiation spread to residential areas hours before venting
  Radioactive material from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant spread to residential areas hours before workers vented the containment vessel of the plant's No. 1 reactor on March 12, 2011, to release pressure, it has emerged. In one area, the level of radiation had surged to more than 700 times the normal level, indicating that many local residents were exposed to high levels of radiation before they evacuated.
• 2013/02/21: HuffPo: Bluefin Tuna Caught Near California Still Radioactive Years After Fukushima
• 2013/02/21: EneNews: Tepco presentation shows clumps of melted nuclear fuel outside containment vessel - "Many unexpected situations are expected"
• 2013/02/21: Asahi: High radiation bars decommissioning of Fukushima plant
• 2013/02/20: EneNews: U.S. bluefin tuna still contaminated with Fukushima radiation - Study: Cesium found in 100% of small, recently migrated tuna tested
• 2013/02/20: NatureN: Fukushima health-survey chief to quit post
  Shunichi Yamashita led well-received study of nuclear accident's effects but was blamed for poor communication.
• 2013/02/20: CPW: Fukushima's victims show why Harper must update nuclear liability law
• 2013/02/18: EneNews: Highest Yet: Cesium in fish off Chiba coast exceeds radiation limit for first time - 200 kilometers from Fukushima plant - Due east of Tokyo
• 2013/02/19: EneNews: Top Japan Official [Industry Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi]: Not appropriate to say Fukushima nuclear disaster is contained
• 2013/02/18: Cryptome: TEPCO Handouts on Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Residents paying back Fukushima compensation
  Nearly two years on from the meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, there are accusations the nuclear industry is evading its responsibilities. The disaster has mostly dropped out of the news in Japan and its victims remain largely hidden after being placed in tiny, so-called temporary apartments across the country. The ABC has learned that TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima plant, is handing out what are called "temporary compensation" payments - money handed out to victims of the meltdowns, but which must be repaid.
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/02/21: BWeek: China Wants Nuclear Reactors, and Lots of Them [Fuku pol]
  Soon after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear meltdown in March 2011, Germany announced it would decommission all its nuclear plants. Switzerland and Italy rejected proposals to build more reactors. Japan shut down its reactors and has yet to restart them. China, on the other hand, plowed ahead with existing projects, even though it suspended new approvals so it could perform more safety checks. Last November, the government lifted the moratorium and approved four projects. The number of reactors being built is now 29 -- the most of any country, and 40 percent of the world's total. "China is now one of the most important countries, if not the most important country, in the global nuclear industry," says Antony Froggatt, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, a British think tank.
• 2013/02/18: NewScientist: Nuclear waste: too hot to handle?
  There are 437 nuclear power reactors in 31 countries around the world. The number of repositories for high-level radioactive waste? Zero. The typical lifespan of a nuclear power plant is 60 years. The waste from nuclear power is dangerous for up to one million years. Clearly, the waste problem is not going to go away any time soon.
• 2013/02/18: BNC: Two decades and counting... by Geoff Russell
  While the French have been generating electricty for ~80 grams of CO2 per kWh for two decades, the Germans are still putting out ~450 grams/kwh and Australia is close to world's worst practice ~850 grams/kwh. The anti-nuclear movement has corrupted green thinking and cost us two decades and thousands of lives in the battle to avoid dangerous climate change ... and counting.
• 
  

  The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

   

• 2013/02/23: CBC:Q&Q: Arctic Ice Turns Green with Algae
• 2013/02/22: Dosbat: ASCAT, PIOMAS and the DAM
• 2013/02/20: Dosbat: It's February 20th...
• 2013/02/20: ASI: Arctic Sea Ice Forum
• 2013/02/20: Tamino: Cryosat-2 Confirms Stunning Arctic Ice Loss
• 2013/02/19: CCurrents: Arctic Needs Urgent International Response, Says UNEP
• 2013/02/19: Wunderground: Arctic sea ice volume now one-fifth its 1979 level
• 2013/02/15: Reuters: Ice-free Arctic Ocean in 2030?: Wynn
  Vast uncertainty remains over the causes of melting Arctic sea ice and when it may disappear altogether during the summer, which would have consequences for oil explorers, shipping firms and the fight against climate change.
• 
  

  As for the charismatic megafauna:

   

• 2013/02/21: CNN: Don't feed the (polar) bears
  New paper makes emergency recommendations for polar bears - Among them: airdrop food on the bears, move them north - Polar bears are threatened by sea ice melt and climate change - John D. Sutter: The proposals are depressing but necessary
• 
  

  As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

   

• 2013/02/19: SciAm: Arctic Needs Protection from Resource Rush as Ice Melts: U.N. Body [UNEP]
• 2013/02/18: Guardian(UK): Arctic needs protection from resource rush as ice melts, says UN
• 2013/02/18: UN: Citing sea ice melt, UN urges stronger measures to protect fragile Arctic environment
  

  The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2013/02/20: TheConversation: Golden rice is no silver bullet: hunger needs a political solution
• 2013/02/18: CCentral: The Top 10 Hardest-Hit States for Crop Damage
• 2013/02/22: ProMedMail: White nose syndrome, bats - North America (03): USA (KY)
• 2013/02/20: BBC: [Schmallenberg] Farm virus 'can infect wild animals'
  A livestock virus sweeping through British sheep flocks and cattle herds has infected wild deer, say scientists.
• 2013/02/19: BPA: USDA and BLS Reports on Food and Energy Price Changes for 2012
• 2013/02/17: BPA: Banker in Farmland Survey Reports that the Big are Getting Bigger
• 2013/02/18: Guardian(UK): Why does Chad have so many stunted and malnourished children? - in [16] pictures
• 2013/02/18: DD: UN says fertiliser crisis is damaging the biosphere - Mass application of nutrients causes pollution in some areas while under-use hampers food production in others
  

  The state of the world's fisheries is a concern:

• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Algal bloom revisits [Tasmania's] East Coast fisheries
• 2013/02/21: Grist: International cops are on the pirate fishing case
• 2013/02/18: ADN: Historic New England fishery faces collapse
• 2013/02/11: Monbiot: How the [British] government betrayed its promises to protect our seas
• 2013/02/17: IBTimes: Next-Generation Fish-Farming Techniques Aim For Sustainability
  

  This "System of Root Intensification" seems almost too good to be true:

• Cornell: System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
• 2013/02/22: Grist: Miracle grow: Indian farmers smash crop yield records without GMOs
• 2013/02/19: PSinclair: Climate Friendly Rice: The End of the Paddy Field?
• 2013/02/18: RTCC: Climate resilient rice offers hope to Indian farmers
• 2013/02/16: Guardian(UK): India's rice revolution [System of Root Intensification]
  In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice -- with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages?
• 
  

  So, are these land grabs Colonialism V2.0?

   

• 2013/02/21: al Jazeera: Georgia farms face Indian 'invasion'
  Thousands of Punjabi farmers have bought land in distant Georgia lured by cheap prices, angering some locals.
• 2013/02/19: DerSpiegel: 'Land Grabbing': Foreign Investors Buy Up Third World Farmland
  Foreign investors are buying or leasing vast amounts of farmland in Third World countries to profit from surging demand for food crops as a result of rapid population growth. "Land grabbing" amounts to a new form of colonialism that often runs counter to the interests of locals.
• 
  

  Regarding the genetic modification of food:

   

• 2013/02/20: CCurrents: Greenpeace Challenges Sharad Pawar On GM crops
• 2013//: SOR: Top 20 Foods and Products that have been Genetically Modified
  

  And how are we going to feed 9 billion, 10 billion, 15 billion?

• 2013/02/22: FAO: African trust fund for food security becomes reality
  Equatorial Guinea provides first contribution of $30 million for "Africa for Africa" anti-hunger pool
• 2013/02/22: CSM: 'Sand dams' store water for dry season in semi-arid Kenya
• 2013/02/21: EurActiv: Food rejected by Europeans provides a feast in Nairobi
  The United Nations treated government ministers and officials to a meal of blemished African fruit and vegetables to highlight how perfectly edible food is being rejected by European supermarkets.
• 2013/02/21: CCurrents: A Gourmet Meal At UN Environment Programme Headquarters Highlighted Global Campaign To Cut Food Waste
• 2013/02/21: Resilience: Pasture cropping: A regenerative solution from down under
• 2013/02/21: Resilience: Instead of trying to feed the world, let's help it feed itself
• 2013/02/20: UN: UN kicks off 'Year of Quinoa' with focus on world nutrition
• 2013/02/20: UN: Millions in Africa's Sahel region will continue to require food aid, says UN agency
• 2013/02/20: UN: Quinoa Year aims to ease food insecurity and transform the global diet
• 2013/02/20: GreenGrok: Compost Nation
• 2013/02/20: FAO: Launch of the International Year of Quinoa -- UN celebrates Andean "super food"
• 2013/02/11: LeMonde:Diplo: The Futures of Farming
  What the closing of Kansas City's Mercantile Exchange can teach us about how Wall Street stopped treating food like food.
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): What's the future of the family farm?
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Irrigation opportunities that could turn Australia into a 'food bowl' for Asia
• 2013/02/17: SciNow: Predicting the Bumper Crops of the Future
• 2013/02/16: AAAS: Employing Cutting-Edge Plant Science To Address Global Issues that Threaten Mankind
• 2013/02/17: AAAS: Future Cropping Systems To Ensure Global Food Security by Kenneth G. Cassman
• 2013/02/18: CSM: Cut food waste to help feed the world, experts say
  

  Born between Madagsacar and the mainland, Cyclone Haruna turned and zapped the island:

• 2013/02/23: MODIS: Tropical Cyclone Haruna (16S) over Madagascar
• 2013/02/22: Eureka: Cyclone Haruna makes landfall in Madagascar
• 2013/02/20: Eureka: 3 NASA satellites see wide-eyed Cyclone Haruna
• 2013/02/19: Eureka: NASA saw Tropical Storm Haruna come together
• 2013/02/19: al Jazeera: Madagascar and the Philippines flood threat
  Two tropical systems have recently developed, both are relatively weak, but could cause some flooding.

• Cyclone Rusty spun up in the Timor Sea and looks to run smack into Western Australia:

• 2013/02/24: al Jazeera: Thousands cut off by floods in Australia
  Heavy rain floods the east of the country and now the northwest is threatened by Cyclone Rusty.
• 2013/02/23: ABC(Au): Cyclone alert issued for North West
  A Cyclone Advice has been issued for people living between Cape Leveque to Dampier in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions. A Tropical Low 440 kilometres northwest of Broome and 570 kilometres north of Port Hedland is moving south-west at 12 kilometres an hour parallel to the west Kimberley coast.
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): Cyclone tipped to go west as Wet finally arrives
  A low-pressure system in the Timor Sea above the Northern Territory is likely to develop into a cyclone in the next few days but it is expected to move towards Western Australia.

• TD 02W from the Western Pacific, across the Philippines and into the South China Sea:

• 2013/02/19: Eureka: NASA satellite sees Tropical Depression 02W soak the Philippines
  

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2013/02/21: MODIS: Tropical Cyclone Haley (14P) in the South Pacific Ocean [on Feb 9th]
• 2013/02/20: Guardian(UK): How companies used social media during Hurricane Sandy
  

  This week in notable weather:

• 2013/02/22: al Jazeera: Snow blankets much of US -- A major snowstorm is disrupting travel across the US
• 2013/02/22: CBC: Storm promises messy, dangerous commute in U.S. Midwest -- Winter storm that slammed Kansas and Missouri moving northeast
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Roofs torn off homes as storm batters northern NSW
  A severe storm battered the north coast of New South Wales on Friday, damaging homes, causing localised flooding and leaving thousands without power. The low pressure system is slowly tracking down the coast, dumping heavy rain on regions that are already sodden from previous rainfall. During the day wind gusts reached 126 kilometres an hour at Byron Head, while roofs were lifted from house and business at Ballina.
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Storms smash NSW north coast
• 2013/02/22: CNN: Major snowstorm headed for New England, again
  The peak of the storm is forecast for Saturday night through midday Sunday - It could dump as much as 18 inches of snow in some places - The weather will likely snarl travel on roads and at airports
• 2013/02/21: BBC: 'Thundersnow' storm in US Midwest blamed for two deaths
• 2013/02/21: Guardian(UK): Midwest storm: expect more snow - and beware freezing rain
• 2013/02/21: CSM: Snowstorm moves through Midwest, threatens New England
• 2013/02/21: CapClimate: Second Biggest Snowstorm on Record at Wichita
• 2013/02/21: CBC: Winter storm sweeps across U.S. Midwest
  

  This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

• 2013/02/22: ArsTechnica: Understanding extreme weather in an era of climate change
  Scientists try to ID climate signals in weather as public draws conclusions.
• 2013/02/15: AAAS: Scientists Say Wild Weather Is Here to Stay
  

  Rossby Waves? Blocking Patterns? Arctic Oscillation? What is the Arctic melt doing to our weather?

• 2013/02/22: Princeton:B: Forecast is for more snow in polar regions, less for the rest of us (Journal of Climate)
• 2013/02/20: PSinclair: Less Snow, More Blizzards - Climate Changes Winter Math
• 2013/02/19: Grist: Climate change means more blizzards but less snow, which confuses people apparently
  

  As for GHGs:

• 2013/02/22: GReadfearn: Carbon bombs scrubbing Australia's emissions cut
• 2013/02/20: NatureN: Nitrogen pollution soars in China
  Emissions from transport and industry have increased faster than those from agriculture.
• 2013/02/18: Eureka: Reduced sea ice disturbs balance of greenhouse gases
  

  And in the carbon cycle:

• 2013/02/17: SciNews: Aquatic predators affect carbon-storing plant life
  Species at top of freshwater food web can indirectly limit buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• 
  

  How is the temperature record?

   

• 2013/02/22: Wunderground: January 2013 Earth's 9th warmest on record; Category 2 Haruna hits Madagascar
• 2013/02/21: BRitholtz: Winter Warming Accelerated Since 1970
  

  Aerosols are making their presence felt:

• 2013/02/22: DD: Smog causes surge in heart deaths: study - 'We found that for every 10 microgrammes per cubic meter in PM2.5, there was a 20-percent increase in the death rate'
• 2013/02/22: MODIS: Dust storm, White Sands, New Mexico (morning overpass)
  

  Regarding ozone:

• 2013/02/20: TP:JR: Another Study Names Oil And Gas As Ozone Culprit
  

  While in the paleoclimate:

• 2013/02/19: Eureka: Jurassic records warn of risk to marine life from global warming
• 2013/02/17: SciAm:HoG: Mass Extinctions and Meteorite Impacts
  

  In the attribution debate:

• 2013/02/21: RTCC: Climate change linked to 2011 East Africa drought
  

  What's new in Biodiversity?

• 2013/02/20: Eureka: Little did we know about beetle diversity: Astonishing 138 new species in a single genus
  

  What's new on the extinction front?

• 2013/02/22: ProMedMail: White nose syndrome, bats - North America (03): USA (KY)
• 2013/02/21: TheConversation: Australian endangered species: Sea snakes
• 2013/02/21: SciAm:EC: 4 Extinct Species That People Still Hope to Rediscover
• 2013/02/19: SciAm:EC: $2,500 Reward Offered after Critically Endangered Red Wolf Killed in North Carolina
• 2013/02/18: DeepSeaNews: Exaltation to Extinction for Sawfishes
• 2013/02/19: EnvEcon: Can we blame this on ethanol too?
  

  The bees and Colony Collapse Disorder are a constant worry:

• 2013/02/22: TheConversation: Modern agriculture is stressing honeybees: let's go native
  

  What's up with volcanoes this week?

• 2013/02/22: IOTD: Mount Etna Boils Over
  

  Regarding the Climate Change and Earthquake hypothesis:

• 2013/02/21: VV: Could we get more Earthquakes due to global warming and thermal expansion of the Earth's crust?
  

  Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

• 2013/02/18: DD: Report points to risk of serious gap in weather satellite data
  

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2013/02/19: DD: As the climate warms, forests encroach on meadowland - 'Meadows' biodiversity value is much larger than the area they occupy'
  

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2013/02/21: TheConversation: Ash to ashes -- what could the 2013 fires mean for the future of our forests?
• 2013/02/19: CCurrents: The Horrors Of Mining In The Head Waters Of The Amazon
• 2013/02/19: BBC: International raid targets illegal timber trade
  Interpol has announced that it arrested nearly 200 people in a wide-ranging international operation against illegal logging and the trafficking of timber. The three-month effort spanned 12 Central and South American countries, and $8m (£5.2m) worth of timber was seized. Interpol says the illegal logging trade could be worth up to $100bn world-wide.
• 2013/02/19: CSM: Stunning reversal? Why 'big paper' [APP] just went green in Indonesia.
  

  Climate refugees are becoming an issue:

• 2013/02/22: UN: UN concerned about refugees crossing 'deadliest stretches of water' to flee homes
  

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

• 2013/02/21: ERW: Tundra fires become more widespread
  Wildfires in Alaska have become more widespread over the past 50 years, according to scientists in the US. The result suggests that Arctic wildfires will have an important effect on the climate in years to come --lthough whether it will be positive or negative, the researchers cannot say.
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): Emergency warning for Grampians bushfire
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): Bushfire threat eases in Bindoon
  Fire crews will work through the night to control a blaze in the shire of Gingin, north of Perth. The fire started on Thursday morning and has burnt through more than 2,000 hectares.
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): [14,000 hectare] Grampians fire breaks containment lines
  A large bushfire burning out of control in the Grampians National Park in the state's west, has broken containment lines.
• 2013/02/20: RealEconomics: Climate change is mostly about fire
• 2013/02/19: IOTD: Mustang Complex Fires in Idaho [on August 29, 2012]
• 2013/02/18: WtD: The new normal: Fires come close to Melbourne, fire plume visable from city
• 2013/02/18: TheAge: Residents flee as fire bites Melbourne's northern edge
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Fire threatening homes in Melbourne's north
  

  Glaciers are melting:

• 2013/02/20: FaGP: Glaciar Steffen, Chile Retreat and Lake Expansion
  

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2013/02/22: Grist: Louisiana may see the highest-rising seas in the world
• 2013/02/21: TheLensNOLa: New research: Louisiana coast faces highest rate of sea-level rise worldwide
• 2013/02/20: CoconutsBangkok: Satellite images reveal Bangkok is sinking
• 2013/02/18: Eureka: New projections of 'uneven' global sea-level rise
• 2013/02/17: CCP: The coming storm. Rising sea levels are forcing tough decisions about where and how to build near water
  

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

• 2013/02/24: ABC(Au): NSW cleans up as floodwaters recede
  Residents, business owners and emergency crews are beginning to clean up as floodwaters subside along the New South Wales mid-north coast. Fifteen river systems from Sydney to the Queensland border are in flood, but all are either at steady levels or falling.
• 2013/02/24: ABC(Au): Freak storms damage hundreds of homes
  Hundreds of homes have been damaged by a freak weather system that tore a path of destruction through parts of Sydney and the Illawarra region last night. The Bureau of Meteorology says two heavy weather systems met in a narrow band along the east coast. The result was heavy rain and winds gusting close to 100 kilometres an hour, causing major damage, but only in a handful of suburbs.
• 2013/02/24: ABC(Au): Thousands isolated as deadly flooding continues
  Thousands of people are isolated as major flooding continues on the New South Wales mid-north coast. Two people are confirmed dead after being caught in the flood waters and the State Emergency Service says it has made over 20 flood rescues.
• 2013/02/24: ABC(Au): Rivers cut off thousands as floods begin to peak
  The Macleay River has peaked in Kempsey on the New South Wales mid-north coast, causing major flooding. More than 20,000 residents remain isolated, with flood warnings in place for 15 river systems from Sydney to the Queensland border. Two people are confirmed dead as a result of the flooding, caused by a slow-moving low pressure system that has made its way down the eastern coast over the past few days.
• 2013/02/23: al Jazeera: Athens under water -- The Greek capital is reeling after the worst rainstorm in half a century
• 2013/02/23: ABC(Au): Flooding hits NSW North Coast
• 2013/02/22: DD: Thin snowpack in U.S. West signals summer of fire and drought - 'We're running out of time'
• 2013/02/23: TP:JR: Dust Bowl Days: Historic U.S. Drought Projected To Persist For Months, Worsened By Thin Western Snowpack
• 2013/02/23: RT: Floods sweep through Greece and Italy, 1 dead (video, photos)
• 2013/02/22: al Jazeera: Flood waters encircle Greek capital
  Fire department receives more than 1,500 calls to pump out water as torrential rains flood Athens and surrounding areas
• 2013/02/22: BBC: Athens under water after several hours of rainfall
  Several hours of heavy rain and a thunderstorm in the Greek capital Athens have flooded roads and homes, caused traffic jams and disrupted the train and tram network, officials say.
• 2013/02/22: ERW: Near real-time satellite record set to monitor droughts
• 2013/02/21: CCentral: Time Is Running Out to Avert a Third Summer of Drought
• 2013/02/21: MetOffice(UK): Human influence on East Africa drought
  Human influence on global climate contributed to the causes of the 2011 East Africa drought, according to new research by the Met Office.
• 2013/02/21: Wunderground: Largest winter storm of the season helping dent Midwest drought
• 2013/02/21: al Jazeera: Australia braces for floods
  Torrential rain threatens to bring treacherous conditions to parts of New South Wales.
• 2013/02/18: al Jazeera: Floods and landslides hit Indonesia again
  Deadly floods have hit Indonesia causing landslides and forcing thousands to flee from their homes.
• 2013/02/17: CBC: At least 10 dead in Indonesia landslides, floods
  

  First, stop subsidizing fossil fuels
  Second, put a price on carbon
  And elsewhere on the mitigation front:

• 2013/02/20: NatureN: Green cement: Concrete solutions
  Cement manufacturing is a major source of greenhouse gases. But cutting emissions means mastering one of the most complex materials known.
• 2013/02/21: RTCC: Climate and Clean Air Coalition can cut warming by 0.5°C [by targetting reductions in methane, black carbon & HFCs]
• 2013/02/20: ERW: Agricultural climate adaptation can mitigate too
• 2013/02/17: Wunderground:RR: Should We Just Adapt to Climate Change?
  

  Consider transportation & GHG production:

• 2013/02/22: NBF: China has almost 10,000 kilometers of high speed rail now and 5 times more by 2020 - Forcing China's Airlines to Shift Focus to International Travel
• 2013/02/23: CalcRisk: DOT: Vehicle Miles Driven declined 2.9% in December
• 2013/02/19: CCurrents: The Car Lobby Stifling Public Transport
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Singapore, Malaysia to build high-speed rail link
  Singapore and Malaysia are to build a high-speed rail link between the city-state and Kuala Lumpur with a target to complete it around 2020.
• 2013/02/18: BBC: How much bigger can container ships get?
  The world's cargo ships are getting big, really big. No surprise, perhaps, given the volume of goods produced in Asia and consumed in Europe and the US. But are these giant symbols of the world's trade imbalance growing beyond all reason? What is blue, a quarter of a mile long, and taller than London's Olympic stadium? The answer - this year's new class of container ship, the Triple E. When it goes into service this June, it will be the largest vessel ploughing the sea. Each will contain as much steel as eight Eiffel Towers and have a capacity equivalent to 18,000 20-foot containers (TEU).
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/02/22: SciAm:PI: EIA: Newer homes are larger, yet use roughly the same energy as older homes
• 2013/02/22: Resilience: Green housing: In Buffalo, it's not just for rich people anymore
• 2013/02/20: TreeHugger: Equinox Passive House has wall built on a tilt
• 2013/02/18: TreeHugger: Is LEED back on the menu for the Military's green buildings?
• 2013/02/18: TreeHugger: Is green design really over?
  

  As for carbon sequestration:

• 2013/02/18: PlanetSave: Stanford Scientists Aim To Remove CO2 From Atmosphere
  

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2013/02/22: CCurrents: Geoengineering: A Boon Or An Environmental And Geopolitical Disaster?
• 2013/02/21: Eureka: Geoengineering by coalition
• 2013/01/23: CarnegieScience: Geoengineering and global food supply
• 2013/01/24: OCMag: Geoengineering and Global Food Production
• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): Is cloud seeding preventing further flooding in Indonesia?
• 2013/02/15: DEFRA:CEFAS: [834k pdf] Brief Summary of Marine Geoengineering Techniques by C.M.G. Vivian
• 2013/02/15: UStream: NASA/JPL video - Geoengineering and Climate Change, Concepts for directly and deliberately manipulating Earth's climate system...
  

  What's new in conservation?

• 2013/02/22: TheConversation:Savanna burning: carbon pays for conservation in northern Australia
  

  While on the adaptation front:

• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Wine industry leading way on climate adaptation
• 2013/02/20: RTCC: Climate adaptation lessons from Philippines' typhoon pain
  

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2013/02/15: WOL:RoG: Enhanced Chemical Weathering as a Geoengineering Strategy to Reduce Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, a Nutrient Source and to Mitigate Ocean Acidification by Jens Hartmann et al.
• 2013/02/12: ERL: Strategic incentives for climate geoengineering coalitions to exclude broad participation by Katharine L Ricke et al.
• 2013/02/10: GreenOptimistic: How Solar Radiation Management Can Stop Global Warming
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (ab$) Evolution of a genetic polymorphism with climate change in a Mediterranean landscape by John Thompson et al.
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (abs) Association of functional nucleotide polymorphisms at DTH2 with the northward expansion of rice cultivation in Asia by Weixun Wu et al.
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (ab$) The compatibility of agricultural intensification in a global hotspot of smallholder agrobiodiversity (Bolivia) by Karl S. Zimmerer
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (ab$) Radiocarbon dating casts doubt on the late chronology of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in southern Iberia by Rachel E. Wood et al.
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (ab$) Photosynthetic reaction center as a quantum heat engine by Konstantin E. Dorfman et al.
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (abs) Country-wide rainfall maps from cellular communication networks by Aart Overeem et al.
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (ab$) Surfactants from the gas phase may promote cloud droplet formation by Neha Sareen et al.
• 2013/02/19: PNAS: (ab$) Subtropical High predictability establishes a promising way for monsoon and tropical storm predictions by Bin Wang et al.
• 2013/02/07: BG: The Australian terrestrial carbon budget by V. Haverd et al.
• 2013/02/20: ESDD: Can bioenergy cropping compensate high carbon emissions from large-scale deforestation of mid to high latitudes? by P. Dass et al.
• 2013/02/21: ACP: Estimates of aerosol radiative forcing from the MACC re-analysis by N. Bellouin et al.
• 2013/02/20: ACP: Environmental impacts of shipping in 2030 with a particular focus on the Arctic region by S. B. Dalsøren et al.
• 2013/02/19: ACP: Modeling of 2008 Kasatochi volcanic sulfate direct radiative forcing: assimilation of OMI SO2 plume height data and comparison with MODIS and CALIOP observations by J. Wang et al.
• 2013/02/19: ACP: Radiative forcing of the direct aerosol effect from AeroCom Phase II simulations by G. Myhre et al.
• 2013/02/18: ACP: Using the significant dust deposition event on the glaciers of Mt.~Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains, Russia on 5 May 2009 to develop a method for dating and "provenancing" of desert dust events recorded in snow pack by M. Shahgedanova et al.
• 2013/02/21: ACPD: Aerosol physical and chemical properties retrieved from ground-based remote sensing measurements during heavy haze days in Beijing winter by Z. Q. Li et al.
• 2013/02/18: ACPD: Global CO2 fluxes estimated from GOSAT retrievals of total column CO2 by S. Basu et al.
• 2013/02/20: PLoS One: Characterization of Amoeboaphelidium protococcarum, an Algal Parasite New to the Cryptomycota Isolated from an Outdoor Algal Pond Used for the Production of Biofuel by Peter M. Letcher et al.
• 2013/02/21: Springer:AEJ: (ab$) Thinking after Fukushima. Epistemic shift in social sciences by Alain-Marc Rieu
• 2013/02/22: BG: Diversity pattern of nitrogen fixing microbes in nodules of Trifolium arvense (L.) at different initial stages of ecosystem development by S. Schulz et al.
• 2013/02/21: BG: Reducing the model-data misfit in a marine ecosystem model using periodic parameters and linear quadratic optimal control by M. El Jarbi et al.
• 2013/02/21: BG: An unknown oxidative metabolism substantially contributes to soil CO2 emissions by V. Maire et al.
• 2013/02/20: BG: Effect of ocean acidification on the fatty acid composition of a natural plankton community by E. Leu et al.
• 2013/02/22: BGD: Low vertical transfer rates of carbon inferred from radiocarbon analysis in an Amazon podzol by C. A. Sierra et al.
• 2013/02/22: BGD: Effect of increased pCO2 on early shell development in great scallop (Pecten maximus Lamarck) larvae by S. Andersen et al.
• 2013/02/18: BGD: Regional variability of acidification in the Arctic: a sea of contrasts by E. E. Popova et al.
• 2013/02/22: CP: Multi-periodic climate dynamics: spectral analysis of long-term instrumental and proxy temperature records by H.-J. Lüdecke et al.
• 2013/02/19: CP: High-temperature thermomagnetic properties of vivianite nodules, Lake El'gygytgyn, Northeast Russia by P. S. Minyuk et al.
• 2013/02/19: CP: Proxy benchmarks for intercomparison of 8.2 ka simulations by C. Morrill et al.
• 2013/02/20: CPD: Why could ice ages be unpredictable? by M. Crucifix
• 2013/02/21: Science: (ab$) Speleothems Reveal 500,000-Year History of Siberian Permafrost by A. Vaks et al.
• 2013/02/20: NERC:NORA: Providing low-budget estimations of carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural wetlands by Colin R. Lloyd et al.
• 2013/02/22: ACP: The importance of low-deformation vorticity in tropical cyclone formation by K. J. Tory et al.
• 2013/02/22: GMD: Implementation of the chemistry module MECCA (v2.5) in the modal aerosol version of the Community Atmosphere Model component (v3.6.33) of the Community Earth System Model by M. S. Long et al.
• 2013/02/20: GMDD: The GREENROOF module (v7.3) for modelling green roof hydrological and energetic performances within TEB by C. S. de Munck et al.
• 2013/02/22: OS: Sea surface freshening inferred from SMOS and ARGO salinity: impact of rain by J. Boutin et al.
• 2013/02/20: TC: A synthesis of the Antarctic surface mass balance during the last 800 yr by M. Frezzotti et al.
• 2013/02/04: WOL:JAWRA: Estimation of Evapotranspiration Across the Conterminous United States Using a Regression With Climate and Land-Cover Data by Ward E. Sanford & David L. Selnick
• 2013/02/11: ACS: (ab$) Radiocesium in Pacific Bluefin Tuna Thunnus orientalis in 2012 Validates New Tracer Technique by Daniel J. Madigan et al.
• 2013/02/18: GMDD: A refined statistical cloud closure using double-Gaussian probability density functions by A. K. Naumann et al.
• 2013/02/19: OS: Observations of water masses and circulation with focus on the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean from the 1990s to the late 2000s by B. Rudels et al.
• 2013/02/19: OS: Near-surface measurements of sea spray aerosol production over whitecaps in the open ocean by S. J. Norris et al.
• 2013/02/19: OSD: Impact of the Indonesian throughflow on Agulhas leakage by D. Le Bars et al.
• 2013/02/19: TCD: High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape by E. M. Enderlin et al.
• 2013/02/18: TCD: Spectral reflectance of solar light from dirty snow: a simple theoretical model and its validation by A. Kokhanovsky
• 2013/02/19: AGWObserver: Papers on snow cover changes
• 2013/02/17: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Strong increase in convective precipitation in response to higher temperatures by Peter Berg et al.
• 2013/02/17: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Predator-induced reduction of freshwater carbon dioxide emissions by Trisha B. Atwood et al.
• 2013/02/17: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Ecosystem photosynthesis inferred from measurements of carbonyl sulphide flux by David Asaf et al.
• 2013/02/17: Nature:CC: (ab$) A coupled physical and economic model of the response of coastal real estate to climate risk by Dylan E. McNamara & Andrew Keeler
• 2013/02/17: Nature:CC: (ab$) The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange by Frans-Jan W. Parmentier et al.
• 2013/02/18: WOL:TGJ: (ab$) Combining sustainable agricultural production with economic and environmental benefits by Amir Kassam & Hugh Brammer [SRI]
  

  And other significant documents:

• 2013/02/18: PCI: [links to pdfs] Drill Baby Drill
• 2013/02/21: CCPA: [link to 2.7 meg pdf] The Bitumen Cliff -- Lessons and Challenges of Bitumen Mega-Developments for Canada's Economy in an Age of Climate Change
• 2013/02/15: DEFRA:CEFAS: [834k pdf] Brief Summary of Marine Geoengineering Techniques by C.M.G. Vivian
  

  As for miscellaneous science:

• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Geomapping to monitor Pacific sea levels
  A project to map the geography of Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Samoa to monitor rising sea levels has begun. The project uses laser equipment to create a 3D map of the islands showing ground elevation, vegetation, canopy height and building placement. Technical adviser from the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information, Nathan Quadros, said the project will ultimately allow locals to monitor changes in the environment.
• 2013/02/22: NatureNB: Australia to push research-industry links with big cash infusion
• 2013/02/22: JEB: Yet more on uniform priors and the misinterpretation of p-values
• 2013/02/21: JCBaez: Maximum Entropy and Ecology
• 2013/02/20: CLBook: Constraining projections with observations
• 2013/02/23: TMasters: Could the multiple regression approach detect a recent pause in global warming? Part 3.
• 2013/02/20: TMasters: Could the multiple regression approach detect a recent pause in global warming? Part 2.
• 2013/02/20: RW: Anil Potti posts restored to Retraction Watch following false DMCA claim
• 2013/02/22: ERW: Near real-time satellite record set to monitor droughts
  Rain gauges are few and far between in the Amazon Basin, which makes measuring rainfall and monitoring drought a difficult task. Satellite precipitation data help to fill the gap, but high-resolution satellite records do not cover a very long time period. Now, for the first time, scientists have been able to address this problem by combining different satellite records to make a global long-term and near real-time precipitation record.
• 2013/02/23: BBC: Seafarer science: Sailors asked to help measure plankton
  Scientists are enlisting sailors and fishermen to help with what they hope will be the world's biggest study of plankton in the oceans.
• 2013/02/23: ERabett: An Interesting Puzzler
• 2013/02/23: Tamino: Once is not enough
  

  What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

• 2013/02/15: EFF: New Bill Helps Expand Public Access to Scientific Knowledge
• 2013/02/23: JCBaez: Open Access to Taxpayer-Funded Research
• 2013/02/22: WhiteHouse: Expanding Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research
• 2013/02/22: RO'R: White House moves to increase public access to scientific research online
• 2013/02/22: KSJT: A Victory for Open Access Research
• 2013/02/22: NatureNB: White House announces new US open access policy
• 2013/02/22: ScienceInsider: White House Unveils Long-Awaited Public Access Policy
• 2013/02/19: MEisen: Please review our new paper: Sequencing mRNA from cryo-sliced Drosophila embryos to determine genome-wide spatial patterns of gene expression
  

  Regarding Hansen:

• 2013/02/20: CCP: James Hansen: A Fork in the Road
• 2013/02/22: 350orBust: A Fork In the Road
  

  The Pielke fan clubbe, alas:

• 2013/02/22: ERabett: The Letter Elsevier Should Have Sent Roger Jr.
• 2013/02/22: WottsUWT: Pielke Jr. appears to get booted from a journal for giving an unfavorable peer review to some shoddy science
• 2013/02/21: ERabett: I'm gonna take my paper and go home
• 2013/02/21: ERabett: @EthonRaptor
• 2013/02/21: CSW: Pielke Jr. implies conspiracy over routine journal procedure
• 2013/02/21: TWTB: Roger Pielke Jr.'s fevered delusions of persecution continue unabated
  

  Regarding Lindzen:

• 2013/02/21: LoE: Lindzengate - one year on
  

  Meanwhile at the UN:

• 2013/02/22: UN: Mongolia to host UN World Environment Day 2013 [June 5th]
• 2013/02/20: RTCC: Ban Ki Moon: green growth insurance against uncertain future
  Sound environmental policies are an insurance policy against an uncertain future,and should be framed as an investment and not a cost.
• 2013/02/19: CCurrents: Arctic Needs Urgent International Response, Says UNEP
• 2013/02/17: CCurrents: Climate Crisis: Low-Lying Island Nations Appeal To UN Security Council
• 2013/02/19: UN: New UN partnership will help 30 countries transition to green economies
• 2013/02/18: RTCC: Russia and China blocked efforts last Friday to have climate change recognised as an international security threat by the UN Security Council
  

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2013/02/22: BBerg: California Sells Carbon Allowances for $13.62 Each in Auction
• 2013/02/22: BBerg: EU Carbon Plunges After German Permit Auction Fails Second Time
• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): Emissions trading scheme: EU committee passes 'rescue' reforms
• 2013/02/19: EurActiv: MEPs throw lifeline to EU's ailing carbon market
  Lawmakers on the European Parliament's environment committee voted by 38-25 in favour of an amendment in support of the EU's 'backloading' plans for the Emissions Trading System (ETS), throwing a lifeline to the crisis-hit carbon market.
• 2013/02/19: EUO: MEPs back carbon auction freeze
• 2013/02/19: SciAm:PI: California's Second Carbon Auction Today: An Explainer on Cap-and-Trade
• 2013/02/19: RTCC: EU carbon market survives crucial Parliament vote
  The European Parliament's Environment Committee has voted in favour of plans to reform the bloc's carbon market.
• 2013/02/19: BBerg: Carbon Plunges as EU Delays Vote on Fast-Track Market Fix
  

  The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2013/02/19: Xinhuanet: China to introduce carbon tax: official
• 2013/02/20: RTCC: China announces carbon tax
  China has announced it will establish a carbon tax by adding CO2 to the scope of existing environmental levies.
• 2013/02/19: EurActiv: Carbon taxation: An old-new idea whose time may soon come?
  In the debate over the future of the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS), a diverse and increasing vocal array of figures cutting across party lines has spoken out for an old-new way of cutting CO2 emissions: a carbon tax.
• 
  

  On the international political front, tensions continue as the empire leans on Iran:

   

• 2013/02/23: RT: Iran 'finds' mass uranium deposits, picks 16 new nuclear sites
• 2013/02/22: RT: US wants Iran to stop using euro, ECB under pressure
• 2013/02/21: al Jazeera: Does Obama really want a deal with Iran?
  The meeting in Kazakhstan next week between Iran and the P5+1 seems destined to fail.
• 2013/02/21: HinduBL: US warns Pak on Iran-built oil refinery
• 2013/02/20: Guardian(UK): China floods Iran with cheap consumer goods in exchange for oil
• 2013/02/20: CCurrents: U.S. Sanctions On Iran Tantamount To Collective Punishment: Kenneth O'Keefe
• 2013/02/17: CCurrents: The United States Has Waged An Economic War Against Iran : Pepe Escobar
  

  South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

• 2013/02/23: al Jazeera: US and Japan leaders affirm security alliance
  US President Barack Obama and Japan PM Shinzo Abe vow to stand firm against North Korea, and promote regional stability.
• 2013/02/23: ABC(Au): Japan vows it won't tolerate Senkaku challenges
  Japan's prime minister has vowed he will not tolerate any challenges to control over a group of contested islands in the East China Sea.
• 2013/02/18: NakedCapitalism: China Decides that South China Sea Oil is a National Asset
  

  With the EU-ETS for airlines plan in abeyance and the UN plan about to be stymied, it's clear who is serious about reducing carbon emissions:

• 2013/02/19: RTCC: BASIC countries threaten to block aviation emissions deal
  There are fears that major emerging economies are pressing to make commitments to tackle emissions from the aviation sector voluntary. Brazil, South Africa, India and China -- also known as the 'BASIC' countries, released a joint statement from a meeting last Saturday stating that any deal must involve "voluntary participation".
• 
  

  In the global competition for Rare Earths and other natural resources:

   

• 2013/02/20: WSWS: German industry, government planning for resource wars
  

  While in the worldwide energy race:

• 2013/02/21: Reuters: EU and China stumble towards solar trade war
  China's leadership change complicates dispute - Brussels complains that China is "stonewalling" - Race to win contracts in clean energy industry
• 
  

  And in miscellaneous international political jousting:

   

• 2013/02/21: CSM: The future of oil on the Falkland Islands
• 2013/02/20: EmbassyMag: Rumours of a decline of the West
  They have been greatly exaggerated. Climate change is one reason why.
• 
  

  Climate Change is a threat multiplier exacerbating existing conflicts in food, energy, water, race, resources, religion, ideology ... etc.:

   

• 2013/02/22: RTCC: Afghanistan faces twin threats of war and climate change
  Droughts and land degradation exacerbated by climate change could further destabilise Afghanistan, an official from the country's environment protection agency has told RTCC.
• 2013/02/20: Eureka: Weather warning -- Study examines climate change as a national security issue
• 2013/02/18: RTCC: Russia and China blocked efforts last Friday to have climate change recognised as an international security threat by the UN Security Council
  

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

• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): E.ON lobbied for stiff sentences against Kingsnorth activists, papers show
  Power giant warned then energy secretary Ed Miliband that failure to impose tough sentences would 'impact' investment
• 2013/02/19: TreeHugger: The case for civil disobedience on climate
  

  What are the activists up to?

• 2013/02/21: CCP: 40 Days For A Future: An Unprecedented Crisis Calls For Unprecedented Action
• 2013/02/19: AppalachiaResist: Ohio Residents Shut Down Fracking Waste Storage Facility
  

  Polls! We have polls!

• 2013/02/22: EnvEcon: A new poll with climate change questions
• 2013/02/22: TP:JR: One-Sided Keystone XL Poll Tells the Story Big Oil Wants You To Hear
• 2013/02/21: TP:JR: Latest Polling Finds Strong Support For Clean Energy And Stricter Carbon Pollution Standards
• 2013/02/21: Grist: America thinks we need to fix the climate --- after we deal with the deficit
  

  Regarding Water Politics and Business:

• 2013/02/20: JFleck: Desalination and engineering optimism
• 2013/02/22: Grist: This billboard sucks water out of the air and delivers it to families below
• 2013/02/19: USGS: New Maps Provide Crucial Information for Water Managers -- Long-Term U.S. Evapotranspiration Rates Mapped for the First Time
• 2013/02/22: RTCC: India and Nepal face struggle over water resources
  In the west of the region, arguments between Pakistan and India over vital water resources in areas bordering the two countries continue.
• 2013/02/21: TMoS: China's Water Woes -- China does not seem able to come to grips with the pollution that is inexorably poisoning the country
• 2013/02/19: BBC: Carbon Trust launches scheme to tackle water waste
  An international standard on water reduction has been launched in an effort to order to encourage businesses to use water more sustainably.
• 
  

  And on the groundwater front:

   

• 2013/02/22: DD: NASA satellites find alarming freshwater losses in Middle East, totaling 144 cubic kilometers in 7 years - 'If it's not replenished, eventually it will be gone'
  

  Who's making predictions this week?

• 2013/02/21: AgWeb: USDA Economist: Sharp Drop in Commodity Prices Coming
  Commodity prices will fall "significantly" in 2013 due to strong corn and soybean production in 2013, USDA's chief economist [Joe Glauber] predicted today at the agency's annual Agricultural Outlook Conference in Arlington, Va.
• 
  

  While in the UK:

   

• 2013/02/19: BBC: Electric car charging points in garages and driveways get 75% subsidy
  The government has announced that it will cover up to 75% of the cost of installing charging points for electric vehicles in garages and driveways. Drivers with off-street parking who want to install the facility will be expected to cover the remaining 25%. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said ministers were committed to ensuring that the UK was a "world leader in the electric car industry".
• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): We cannot afford not to have nuclear in our low-carbon energy mix
• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): Ofgem predicts higher energy bills
• 2013/02/11: Monbiot: How the [British] government betrayed its promises to protect our seas
• 2013/02/19: BBC: Energy watchdog Ofgem chief warns of bill rises
  Consumers are being warned they face higher energy bills as the UK becomes more reliant on energy imports.
• 2013/02/18: TP:JR: UK Climate Change Secretary [Ed Davey] Slams Deniers As 'Dogmatic And Blinkered'
  

  And in Europe:

• 2013/02/22: EurActiv: Europe to get its first EU-wide offshore oil and gas law
  The EU proposed yesterday (21 February) its first law to regulate safety in offshore oil and gas drilling across the 27-member bloc and prevent any repeat of BP's catastrophic Gulf of Mexico spill.
• 2013/02/21: EurActiv: Minister: German 'green revolution' could cost E1 trillion [over 20 years]
  Germany's transition to renewable energy may cost up to E1 trillion in the next two decades, the environment minister said on Wednesday (20 February), piling pressure on his opponents to back plans to cap power price rises before the election.
• 2013/02/21: EurActiv: Study claims solar panel tariffs could trigger 242,000 job losses
  A new study for the Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy (AFASE) says that EU tariffs on solar panels from China could lead to 242,000 European job losses in the next three years.
• 2013/02/20: EurActiv: EU mulls 2030 targets for CO2 and renewables, but not energy efficiency
  The 27 EU Commissioners are meeting in Brussels today (20 February) to consider early proposals for 2030 climate targets covering CO2 emissions and possibly renewables. But the proposals aren't likely to extend to efficiency, despite EU data showing the continent is on track to miss its 2020 goals.
• 2013/02/20: Guardian(UK): Estonia launches national electric car charging network
• 2013/02/19: EurActiv: Shale gas debate intensifies in Germany ahead of election
  Opposition from Germany's powerful environmental lobby is dimming prospects for shale gas and sparking fears that major industries in Europe's largest economy will lose out to American rivals tapping cheaper energy.
• 2013/02/19: RTCC: EU carbon market survives crucial Parliament vote
  The European Parliament's Environment Committee has voted in favour of plans to reform the bloc's carbon market.
• 2013/02/19: TreeHugger: German town [Feldheim] goes off the grid, achieves energy independence
• 2013/02/18: EurActiv: Electricity bills set Bulgaria on fire
  Tens of thousands of Bulgarians protested in more than 20 cities on Sunday (17 February) against high electricity bills and called for Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his centre-right government to resign.
• 2013/02/18: EUO: EU carbon market boosts emissions, NGOs say
  Around 75 pro-green NGOs are jointly calling for the EU to scrap its carbon emission-trading scheme (ETS) ahead of a European Parliament vote to reform it.
• 2013/02/16: Reuters: German minister seeks fracking law before September
• 2013/02/18: OilDrum: Tech Talk - Ukraine tries to escape Gazprom's grip
  

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2013/02/23: JQuiggin: Uranium exports: bonanza or bust?
• 2013/02/23: ABC(Au): Boy drowns in drain as storms hit NSW
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Volunteer firefighter dies following blaze
  A 60-year-old volunteer firefighter has been killed while cleaning up after a fire in Quindanning, about 160 kilometres south-east of Perth. Police say the man was hit by the branch of a falling tree on Fletcher Road, west of Williams, on Friday morning. He was taken to Narrogin hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): 'Farm girl' firefighter farewelled at service
  A 19-year-old firefighter who was killed tackling a bushfire last week, has been farewelled at funeral in north-eastern Victoria. Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) firefighters Katie Peters, 19, from Tallandoon and Steven Kadar, 34, from Corryong, died when a tree fell on their vehicle at the Harrietville alpine bushfire last week.
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Queenslanders face 'huge' power price hikes
  The Queensland Government says the latest electricity price rise is unacceptably high. The average household power bill will rise by 21.4 per cent from July, or an extra $253 per year, with other household tariffs also going up by between 15 and 19 per cent. Today's announcement by the Queensland Competition Authority is only a draft, with a final decision due at the end of May.
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Carbon credits present new forestry opportunities
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): [WA] Labor plan to protect Mitchell Plateau
  WA Labor says it would create a new marine park and a national park in the Kimberley if it wins the March election.
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): [WA] Liberals to fast track mining approvals
  The WA Liberal party will spend $20-million to help fast track mining approvals if it is re-elected to govern in a fortnight.
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Queensland power prices set to spike [21%]
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Assessing the risk of future floods
  Amid concerns of more flooding in the future, the insurance industry wants the Queensland Government to relocate flood-prone homes and infrastructure.
• 2013/02/22: NatureNB: Australia to push research-industry links with big cash infusion
• 2013/02/22: GReadfearn: Carbon bombs scrubbing Australia's emissions cut
• 2013/02/21: Guardian(UK): Dirty fossil fuel exports will come back to bite Australia
• 2013/02/21: RTCC: Australia's coal industry 'making billions' from carbon tax
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): Mid north coast braces for more severe weather
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Audit tallies Australia's carbon budget
  Exports and expiration Australia exports 2.5 times more carbon in fossil fuels than it emits from burning them, the most recent analysis of the nation's carbon stocks shows.
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Early praise for fire-fighting effort
  A preliminary review of the Tasmanian Fire Service's response to the January bushfires has found the state learnt from the Victorian bushfires Royal Commission.
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Coal-generated power here to stay: study
  Coal will be a significant part of Australia's power generation mix for at least another 20 years, according to a new study. University of Queensland researchers say coal-generated power could be halved without compromising the country's power supply, but they argue it will take decades of "orderly transition" to completely move to clean energy production.
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Hundreds gather to protest proposed wind farm
  More than 250 farmers and residents on Yorke Peninsula have called for a moratorium on the proposed Ceres wind farm development at a public meeting at the weekend. The 199 turbine development, which is potentially to be the largest in Australia, is expected to cover 18,000 hectares west of Black Point.
• 
  

  The fight over coal seam gas rages on:

   

• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): Shale gas 'fracking' fractures views in Top End
  The head of an anti-fracking community group based in the eastern states has warned against the development of the shale gas industry in the Northern Territory. Farming, fishing, pastoral and environmental groups were among those represented at a Darwin meeting to discuss the controversial underground mining technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Lock the Gate Alliance president urged Territorians to carefully consider the environmental impact.
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): CSG proponent says govt changes based on emotion
  The joint venture group behind plans to drill for coal seam gas in the Illawarra is unphazed by the State Government's new CSG mining regulations. The government made the announcement this week that CSG mining exclusion zones would be set-up around residential areas and critical industries. Apex Energy and Magnum Gas and Power doesn't believe the changes will effect its plan to drill up to 16 CSG wells in water catchment land. But spokesman Tom Fontaine says he's concerned from an industry perspective about the government bowing to community opposition.
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Doctors sound warning on CSG
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Concerns new CSG regulations won't protect catchments
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Vic Govt urged to introduce CSG no-go zones
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): O'Farrell CSG ban a 'political fix' say Greens
  The New South Wales Government is moving to allay community fears about coal seam gas projects by imposing a two kilometre buffer around residential areas and tougher rules. But the Greens have dismissed the move as a cynical political fix for western Sydney, and a way to help Tony Abbott in this year's Federal Election. The Greens' Leader Christine Milne says all governments should put an end to the coal seam gas industry.
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): State government CSG changes too late for Gloucester
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Industry and green groups react to CSG rules
  There has been mixed reaction to the New South Wales Government's new restrictions on coal seam gas activities, with warnings that power costs could rise on one hand, and claims from green groups the rules do not go far enough.
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Farmers: New CSG rules are a double standard
  Farmers in New South Wales have already started labelling new coal seam gas rules a "double standard". This morning, the O'Farrell Government moved to protect suburbs and towns from CSG (coal seam gas) activity, but the two kilometre buffer zone doesn't apply to individual farms.
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): CSG approval disappoints Gloucester councillors - the impact of CSG is being ignored
  

  It's a long way to the September election:

• 2013/02/23: WSWS: Leadership speculation surrounds Australian prime minister
• 2013/02/23: ABC(Au): Humphries toppled from ACT Liberal Senate ticket
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au):TDU: Another week, another political show stopper
  Labor's political divorce from the Greens this week proved just how far Australian politics has ventured into the 'anything goes' zone. From here until the election nothing can be ruled in or out, writes Barrie Cassidy.
• 2013/02/22: UKISS: Why are you not embarrassed?
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au):TDU: Greens in 2013: between a rock and a hard place
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au): PM stands firm despite Greens' jobs package threat
  Prime Minister Julia Gillard is refusing to bow to pressure to redesign the mining tax despite the Greens threatening to block part of the Government's $1 billion jobs package.
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Greens favour wave energy over gas pipe extension
  The WA Greens have called for greater investment in wave energy on the south coast, in place of the construction of the Albany gas pipeline extension.
• 2013/02/20: UKISS: The National Party's Disconnect
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Polluting power generators profiting from carbon tax compensation: Report
  An environmental group accuses some power generators of passing on the entire cost of the carbon tax to consumers while pocketing the compensation they've been paid by the Federal Government. The environment group which commissioned the report says it means Australians are effectively paying for the carbon tax twice, while the Government props up the dirtiest form of electricity generation.
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Carbon research deficient, partial and incomplete: [CC&I Minister. Greg] Combet
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Carbon tax compensation under new scrutiny after claims of windfall profits
  The Energy Supply Association and the Federal Government have rejected claims that compensation for the carbon tax has delivered billions of dollars in windfall profits to the operators of brown coal fired power plants. An analyst's report shows the companies which own some of Australia's dirtiest power plants are passing on the entire cost of the carbon tax, while pocketing the compensation they've been paid by the Federal Government.
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Gillard 'unsurprised' at split with Greens
• 2013/02/20: WSWS: Australian Greens "break" with Labor, but pledge "stability"
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Consumers 'paying twice' as carbon emitters compensated
  Australia's biggest carbon emitters are being accused of passing on the entire cost of the carbon tax while pocketing government compensation. Analysis by consultants Carbon and Energy Markets suggests that brown coal power plants in Victoria's Latrobe Valley could get billions of dollars in compensation over the next few years.
• 2013/02/20: ABC(Au): Bob Brown endorses split with Labor
  Former Greens leader Bob Brown has welcomed his party's decision to effectively end its formal alliance with Labor.
• 2013/02/19: PrecariousC: Greens denounce Gillard Labor government
• 2013/02/19: UKISS: Our idiotic politicians - Mark Coulton
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Burke defends record after Greens cut ties
  Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has defended Labor's conservation record after the Greens walked away from their formal alliance with the party.
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Labor has reneged on our agreement: Milne
  Greens leader Christine Milne says her party's agreement with Labor is effectively over, citing a string of Government policies including its refusal to redesign the mining tax. In a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra, Senator Milne says it has become clear that Labor no longer has the "courage or the will" to work with the Greens on a shared national agenda. "Labor has effectively ended its agreement with the Greens," Senator Milne told the audience.
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Water expert warns: don't rush irrigation planning in the north
  Dr Bill Young from the CSIRO is one of Australia's top experts on water. As a scientist with a fierce grip on figures, he spells out why our irrigation practices are topsy-turvy.
• 2013/02/18: JQuiggin: Who wants Abbott PM?
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au):TDU: Julia Gillard, the great appeaser
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Gillard brushes off poll slump as Abbott surges
  

  After years of wrangling the Murray Darling Basin plan is in place. Now the real fight begins:

• 2013/02/24: ABC(Au): Big wet prompts SE Qld dam releases
  Dam operator Seqwater will increase releases from south-east Queensland catchments in preparation for heavy rain in the region.
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Hot weather leads to spike in water use [in Melbourne]
• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Sydney Water turns off tap on water savings
  Sydney Water has cut off funding for water-saving programs, saying their cost outweighs their benefit. Water usage in Sydney has dropped to 1970s levels, after a decade of urging people to use less. But critics of the state-owned company's decision, including Labor and the Greens, say the corporation has a conflict of interest. Labor MP Walt Secord says Sydney Water is putting profits before the environment. "This is ridiculous. The fact is that their profits are predicated on getting people to use more water," Mr Secord said.
• 2013/02/20: TheConversation: In south-western Australia, water shortages will worsen
• 2013/02/19: TheConversation: How 'drought infrastructure' can help us get through floods
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Water buyback boost for woodlands
  There are hopes an irrigation project on the Murray will help re-establish black box woodlands and boost wildlife.
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Lakes suffering more from hot weather than draw-down
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Riverland irrigation project first of its kind
  

  While in the Indian subcontinent:

• 2013/02/20: CCurrents: Greenpeace Challenges Sharad Pawar On GM crops
• 2013/02/18: AdBusters: Arundhati Roy -- Re-imagining a world beyond capitalism and communism
• 2013/02/17: CCurrents: The Bollworm Has Turned: Agribusiness In India And The Essence Of Capitalism
  

  And in China:

• 2013/02/20: Grist: In a blow to Republican rhetoric, China announces plan for a carbon tax
• 2013/02/20: RTCC: China announces carbon tax
  China has announced it will establish a carbon tax by adding CO2 to the scope of existing environmental levies.
• 2013/02/20: EconView: China Says It May Implement a Carbon Tax
• 2013/02/18: GreenGrok: Old Wang Coal?
  

  And Japan:

• 2013/02/18: Guardian(UK): Japan disaster relief effort boosted by 'goodwill gold rush'
  

  And South America:

• 2013/02/20: UDW: Tough Questions for Chile as Ongoing Protests Stall Patagonian Dam Project
• 2013/02/20: WSWS: Rafael Correa wins third presidential term in Ecuador
• 2013/02/12: CPunch: Correa and Ecuador's Indigenous Left -- An Interview With Marc Becker
• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Ecuador's Correa cruises to re-election victory
• 2013/02/17: BBC: Ecuador election: President Rafael Correa wins
  

  In Canada, neocon PM Harper pushes petroleum while ignoring climate change:

• 2013/02/23: WpgFP: Harper's 'lurch' strategy failing
  Canada's energy strategy is failing on all fronts. In effect, Canada's energy policy or strategy is a Stephen Harper construct, focusing on specific projects of short-term political expedience, and largely ignoring environmental issues. It makes no effort to acknowledge or reflect the priorities and requirements of each region of Canada. Ad hoc and sporadic, it is doing Canada a disservice politically and economically, causing loss of respect as a global citizen.
• 2013/02/21: WMTC: mississauga m.p. calls for "investigation" of abortions: conservative m.p.s continue their anti-choice agenda
• 2013/02/21: CBC: Ottawa will soon announce future of AECL, Chalk River
  Medical isotopes reactor facility receives mixed review from nuclear safety regulator
• 2013/02/22: CPW: Canada's Environmental Activists "Threat To National Security": Harper Government
  RCMP and CSIS treat peaceful protest actions and questioning the Harper Government as 'forms of attack', label activists involved "national security threats", documents reveal.
• 2013/02/22: NorRe: Greed And Secrecy
• 2013/02/20: TimesColonist: Pipeline industry drove changes to Navigable Waters Protection Act: documents
  When the Harper government included a radical overhaul of the Navigable Waters Protection Act in the last omnibus bill, outsiders scratched their heads and wondered out loud where that idea had come from. Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act show it came, in part, from the pipeline industry. The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association met with senior government officials in the fall of 2011, urging them not just to streamline environmental assessments, but also to bring in "new regulations under (the) Navigable Waters Protection Act," a CEPA slide presentation shows. A copy of the Oct. 27 presentation made to then-deputy minister of trade Louis Levesque was obtained by Greenpeace Canada and shared with The Canadian Press.
• 2013/02/21: TMoS: BC Navigable Waters Protections Gutted at Pipeline Operators' Request
• 2013/02/19: CPW: Harper Government must heed environment commissioner's warnings: David Suzuki
• 2013/02/19: BCLSB: CAPP And The Government
• 2013/02/19: WpgFP: Greenpeace calls on Ottawa to eliminate liability cap for nuclear operators
• 2013/02/18: NorRe: The Epitome of Folly - Joe Oliver knows about the damage being done by mining the tar sands
• 2013/02/17: PostMedia: Oilsands tailings leaking into groundwater, Joe Oliver told in memo
  Tailings ponds from oilsands production are leaking and contaminating Alberta's groundwater, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was told in an internal memo obtained by Postmedia News. The memo, released through access to information legislation, said that federal government scientists, including Quebec City-based research geoscientist Martine Savard, had discovered evidence of the contamination in new research that rejected longstanding claims that toxins in the region of the Athabasca River were coming from natural sources. "The studies have, for the first time, detected potentially harmful, mining-related organic acid contaminants in the groundwater outside a long-established out-of-pit tailings pond," said the memo from deputy minister Serge Dupont, dated June 19, 2012.
• 2013/02/17: BCLSB: Tar Sands Contaminated Ground Water Headed For Athabasca River!
• 2013/02/18: SaskBoy: NOT a "threat to national security"
  

  The IdleNoMore movement is changing:

• 2013/02/21: 350orBust: IdleNoMore Idles On
• 2013/02/23: DbP: Hip hop artist Rellik with Nathan Cunningham: Idle No More video
  

  Harper tries to muzzle American scientists too:

• 2013/02/21: TimesColonist: [Editorial] Science must not be muzzled
  Freedom of expression is a vital component of a healthy democracy; it's also essential to science. Scientists and academics are concerned that the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to increase its control of what government scientists can say and publish.
• 2013/02/20: CCP: Canadian government suppresses U.S. and its own scientists' research on Arctic sea ice volume
  

  It would be funny if Harper's penchant for muzzling scientists were ruled illegal:

• 2013/02/20: CBC: Could muzzling federal scientists be illegal? Canada's information commissioner being asked if policies break law
  The Information Commissioner of Canada is being asked to investigate whether "federal government policy forcing scientists to jump through hoops before speaking with the media" breaches the Access to Information Act. The request was made as part of a complaint filed Wednesday by Democracy Watch, a non-profit organization that advocates for government accountability, and the University of Victoria's Environmental Law Clinic.
• 2013/02/20: TMoS: Breaking Harper's Siege on Science
  Could the courts force Sideshow Steve Harper to take his gags off federal government scientists?
• 
  

  The Harper gang's reaction to Obama's apparent new found green-ness:

   

• 2013/02/19: CTV: Report questions Canada's 'politicization' of climate change policy options -- Provinces consider carbon tax
  The Conservative decision to go with complex, sector-by-sector regulation of emissions while provinces experiment with market-driven policies such as cap-and-trade systems, carbon offsets and carbon taxes makes for a confusing patchwork, said the year-in-review report [by IISD] released Tuesday.
• 2013/02/19: TStar: Stephen Harper Conservatives should heed Washington's climate change message: Tim Harper
  Barack Obama's envoy is right to push Ottawa to sell it environmental record south of the border. Otherwise Keystone could be lost.
• 2013/02/18: Impolitical: Irresponsible Polling Developments on "Responsible Resource Development"
• 2013/02/18: WpgFP: Light on facts, heavy on patriotism, focus groups help hone NRCan advertising
• 2013/02/18: CBC: Government hones oilsands message with focus groups
  Natural Resources Canada set to spend $9 million this year on energy sector advertising
• 2013/02/17: CBC: Canada defends climate record amidst U.S. Keystone XL protests
• 2013/02/16: G&M: Meet the man selling Canada's oil sands to Washington [Rob Merrifield]
  Ottawa is quietly using a well-connected Conservative MP as a direct liaison with the U.S. Congress to help build support for the Keystone XL pipeline project and a raft of other Canadian priorities in Washington. Rob Merrifield is operating on a mandate letter from Prime Minister Stephen Harper that instructs him to represent Canadian interests to the legislative branch of the U.S. government on everything from the oil-sands crude pipeline to speeding the passage of trade through heavy American border security. Mandate letters are normally given to cabinet ministers.
• 
  

  The Liberal party leadership vote is scheduled for April 14th:

   

• 2013/02/22: TMoS: Not Green, For Now
• 2013/02/21: Impolitical: David Suzuki endorsement of Joyce Murray #lpcldr
• 2013/02/19: WpgFP: Liberals showing some grit
• 2013/02/18: VanObs: BC Election 2013: The power of brand Joyce Murray
• 2013/02/17: PunditsGuide: A Tale of Two Leadership Races [Federal Liberals & Saskatchewan NDP]
  

  There has been some chatter about the fabled West-East line:

• 2013/02/22: P3: Another pipeline proposal
• 2013/02/22: G&M: New Brunswick and its pipeline dream
• 2013/02/19: PostMedia: Quebec open to oil pipeline project
  Quebec would be open to having an oil pipeline pass through it to bring crude from Alberta to New Brunswick as long as the project served the interests of Quebecers, Premier Pauline Marois said in a statement Monday.
• 2013/02/18: CBC: Quebec and New Brunswick premiers meet to discuss pipelines
  Pauline Marois hosts David Alward at Quebec premier's Montreal office
• 
  

  In BC, the stage is set. Now what will Clark and Dix do?

   

• 2013/02/23: WCEL: Premier Clark abandons promise to ban cosmetic pesticides - now promises to regulate
• 2013/02/22: Tyee: Budget Cuts Amidst Forest Crisis Anger Critics -- 'Difficult decision' to trim stewardship funding until next year: minister
• 2013/02/21: CBC: BC Hydro company manipulated U.S. energy market
  B.C. taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars after a U.S. judge's ruling that found massive market manipulation in the California electricity market in 2000. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission judge said the companies responsible included Powerex, a wholly owned subsidiary of BC Hydro.
• 2013/02/20: TheCanadian: BC's Fiscal Mess: Hydro, LNG Numbers Don't Add Up
• 2013/02/21: TheCanadian: Hydro Subsidiary Faces Hefty Fine for Enron-Related Market Manipulation
• 2013/02/21: CBC: B.C. defends Powerex in California price-fixing complaint
• 2013/02/19: TheCanadian: Does Malaysian LNG Mega-Project for BC Coast Need Environmenal Assessment?
• 2013/02/18: TheCanadian: Lack of Transparency for Environmental Violations in Fracking
• 2013/02/18: VanObs: BC Election 2013: The power of brand Joyce Murray
• 2013/02/18: WCEL: Prosperity Fund ignores coal, oil and climate change
• 2013/02/18: Tyee: Will Dix Get Gassed by Clark? Premier is betting the election on LNG. Where's the opposition?
  

  Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

• 2013/02/22: FinPo: Proposed oil sands health study derailed after aboriginal band pulls support over cancer rate debate
• 2013/02/21: TStar: The false gods that are Alberta's oilsands: Walkom
  A new study [The Bitumen Cliff] uses an old theory to show that Alberta's iconic oilsands have clay feet.
• 2013/02/21: WpgFP: Dependence on the oilsands could end up hurting Canada's economy, [The Bitumen Cliff] report warns
• 2013/02/21: CCPA: Canada heading for 'bitumen cliff'
• 2013/02/21: CCPA: [link to 2.7 meg pdf] The Bitumen Cliff -- Lessons and Challenges of Bitumen Mega-Developments for Canada's Economy in an Age of Climate Change
• 2013/02/20: CBC: ExxonMobil's $3B bid for Calgary firm [Celtic Exploration] OK'd by Ottawa
• 2013/02/17: TheCanadian: Tar Sands Tailing Ponds Leaking, Contaminating Groundwater, Leaked Memo Reveals
• 2013/02/19: PostMedia: New study to examine health impact of Alberta oilsands
  An independent study will soon be launched into the health effects of the oilsands on nearby communities. Partially funded by the provincial and federal governments, the study will be overseen by University of Calgary sociology professor Cora Voyageur and will re-examine cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan, a native community about 220 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.
• 2013/02/18: G&M: Oil sands monitoring program stalled as Ottawa, Alberta debate details
  The revamping of environmental monitoring of the oil sands was supposed to be the federal government's defence against suspicions of widespread damage. Now, a full year after Alberta and Ottawa unveiled a three-year plan to set aside their differences and keep a closer watch on the air, water and habitat in northern Alberta, there are still no formal results.
• 2013/02/18: DeSmogBlog: Tar Sands Tailings Contaminate Alberta Groundwater
• 2013/02/19: OilChange: The Missing Tar Sands Monitoring Data
• 2013/02/19: CBC: Oilsands monitoring plan results not available yet -- Officials say release slowed by federal-provincial negotiations over technical details
  

  Also in Alberta:

• 2013/02/22: CBC: Alberta's premier Alison Redford optimistic Keystone XL will be approved
• 2013/02/19: CBC: Families abandon homes near Alberta bitumen facility
  Half a dozen families have abandoned their homes in a northwestern Alberta community blaming emissions from a nearby heavy oil production site. "We probably should have left earlier than we did," said Erin Lebreque, whose family moved away from the Peace River area, 365 kilometres west of Fort McMurray, in October. Lebreque believes a nearby bitumen extractor facility, operated by Baytex Energy Corp., caused the nausea and headaches his family had been experiencing for months.
• 2013/02/17: PostMedia: Fort McMurray awaits housing land, dispute with oil producer simmers
• 2013/02/20: Tyee: The Making of a Natural Gas Glut
  Wall Street drives the shale boom like it did the housing mortgage scandal: [Drill-Baby-Drill] report.
• 2013/02/23: Tyee: Fracked Gas Won't Solve Energy Crunch: [Drill-Baby-Drill] Report
  

  In Saskatchewan, Premier Wall has himself a little bit of a scandal:

• 2013/02/22: BuckDog: Oiled Up
• 2013/02/22: BuckDog: Premier Brad Wall's Government Seems To Be Repeating The Same Scandals That Plagued Premier Grant Devine In the '80' [IPAC CO2]s
• 2013/02/21: BuckDog: Forensic Audit Reveals Sask Party Gov't Carbon Sequestration Project [IPAC-CO2] Flawed And Potentially Fraudulent
• 2013/02/20: CBC: Officials shocked by flow of money in U of R carbon dioxide project
  After concerns were raised about an apparent conflict of interest one at of Saskatchewan's most prominent scientific ventures, some started asking: were hundreds of thousands of tax dollars wasted? Carmen Dybwad, CEO of the Regina-based International Performance Assessment Centre for the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide (IPAC-CO2), says she was stunned when she first arrived and found out hundreds of thousands of dollars were pouring out of IPAC's bank account and going to a single private vendor. "Just sorting all of this out was a version of hell," Dybwad told CBC News. The vendor was Climate Ventures Inc., and when Dybwad took over as IPAC CEO in 2010, more than 60 per cent of her budget was going to the two-year-old company, which was supposed to provide IT services.
• 2013/02/19: CBC: Waste, conflict-of-interest alleged at U of R-affiliated CO2 venture -- IPAC-CO2 was mismanaged, government says
  

  Wynne has won. Now what happens?

• 2013/02/22: G&M: Why aren't heads rolling at Ontario Power Authority?
• 2013/02/21: CBC: More documents outstanding on cancelled Ontario gas plants
• 2013/02/20: TreeHugger: Ontario might get a 400MW pumped storage station five times the height of Niagara Falls
• 2013/02/19: G&M: In eastern Ontario, a battery five times the size of Niagara Falls
• 2013/02/20: BCLSB: Pumped Storage To Back Up Wind
• 2013/02/20: PaiD: Fathoming The Reactionary Mind
  I readily admit that I find it difficult, if not impossible, to fathom the extreme right-wing mind. To me, it is a mind mired in a world of fantasy, willful ignorance, and intractable denial. Magical thinking seems to be a substitute for cogitation. Name-calling in lieu of discussion. Denunciation instead of deliberation. And I would be quite content to leave such minds alone, content as they are in delusions of grandeur and superiority, except for the fact that they bother and disrupt the business of the adults in society.
• 
  

  As for miscellaneous Canadiana:

   

• 2013/02/22: Tyee: Fracking: Feds Throw Wrench in High Profile Lawsuit
  Judge suddenly promoted; plaintiff Ernst sees strategy to 'delay and exhaust.' In a stunning move the Harper government has thrown another hurdle before a high profile Alberta lawsuit that seeks to put the regulation of hydraulic fracturing on public trial. Last week the Department of Justice appointed Honourable Barbara L. Veldhuis, a Court of Queen's Bench judge presiding over the landmark case, to the Court of Appeal of Alberta. The promotion effectively removes Veldhuis from the multi-million dollar lawsuit. Moreover, Veldhuis was about to rule on whether or not Alberta's energy regulator could be sued by a landowner for failing to uphold provincial rules, protect groundwater and respect the constitutional rights of Canadians.
• 2013/02/17: CBC: Test airships for remote communities, MPs say
  Transportation committee recommends pilot project be launched
  It's time to rethink the blimp, a House of Commons committee suggests in a new report. Airships are often associated with the Hindenberg crash of the 1930s, and their development was overtaken by that of the airplane, reducing their use in recent years mostly to props in ad campaigns. But there's room for certain kinds of them to play a new role in Canada, especially when it comes to reaching remote communities in the North, the transportation committee recommended in a recently released report. "Hybrid air vehicles may one day provide a superior solution, as they can travel over snowfall, frozen water or impenetrable terrain, and require no roads or rail installations to operate," says the report.
• 2013/02/21: BCLSB: Wind Power And Hair
  

  And on the American political front:

• 2013/02/24: TP:JR: Welcome to the Revolution ... I Think
• 2013/02/22: PSinclair: Latinos and Climate Change: More Bad news for GOP Deniers
• 2013/02/21: Guardian(UK): Low emissions are no justification for Kansas scaling back renewables
  Is the 'Saudi Arabia of wind' willing to sacrifice the economic benefits of clean energy for the sake of the coal industry?
• 2013/02/21: KSJT: Why Republicans should embrace climate change: Matthew Herper has some answers.
• 2013/02/21: SLTrib: Protesters demonstrate against planned tar-sand mine in eastern Utah
• 2013/02/21: ERabett: What's Wrong With Kansas?
• 2013/02/20: DD: Kansas state bill would force teachers to question climate change in class - HB2306 calls climate change 'scientific controversy'
• 2013/02/20: TP:JR: Kansas Lawmaker With Ties to Oil and Gas Industry Introduces Bill Opposing Sustainable Development
• 2013/02/20: Grist: In a blow to Republican rhetoric, China announces plan for a carbon tax
• 2013/02/18: MWEN: Illinois fracking rules could be strictest in the nation
• 2013/02/19: TreeHugger: The air quality in Fairbanks, Alaska is worse than in Beijing
• 2013/02/18: CCP: Forbes: Why Republicans Should Embrace The Reality Of Climate Change
• 2013/02/16: G&M: Meet the man selling Canada's oil sands to Washington [Rob Merrifield]
• 2013/02/17: RealEconomics: Climate change is not British imperialism
  

  The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:

• 2013/02/23: CSM: 'Trial of the century': Can BP deflect blame for Gulf oil spill?
• 2013/02/22: BBerg: BP Spill Pact Excluded Billions in Possible Loss Claims
• 2013/02/22: CourthouseNews: Epicenter of Gulf Oil Spill Confronts BP
• 2013/02/20: EnvEcon: Transactions costs [BP spill]
• 2013/02/20: EneNews: Uncontrolled gas flow continues from well in Gulf of Mexico -- Trying to stop it from moving underground
• 2013/02/20: Guardian(UK): Justice Department deal reduces BP's Deepwater Horizon fine by $3.4bn
• 2013/02/19: Grist: BP thinks people are still kind of overreacting to the Gulf oil spill
• 2013/02/21: EneNews: Newspaper: Uncontrolled gas well in Gulf is highly pressured - New flyover of area; numerous work and supply vessels (photos)
• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): BP to fight government's 'excessive' demands over Deepwater oil spill
  Oil giant says it has failed to reach a settlement over fatal 2010 blowout and would rather go to court than continue negotiations
• 2013/02/19: CBC: Judge approves $1B Transocean spill settlement
• 2013/02/19: DD: Transocean pleads guilty, is sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal penalties for criminal conduct leading to Deepwater Horizon disaster
  

  The Keystone XL saga grinds slowly. And it grinds woe:

• 2013/02/23: GLaden: Educate yourself about the Keystone XL Pipeline. Please.
• 2013/02/23: PostMedia: South leg of Keystone XL from Oklahoma to Texas hits halfway mark, company says
• 2013/02/22: TheCanadian: Keystone XL: Massive Civil Disobedience is Next
• 2013/02/22: Grist: Tar Sands Blockaders tell their own story in a new documentary
• 2013/02/22: TP:JR: One-Sided Keystone XL Poll Tells the Story Big Oil Wants You To Hear
• 2013/02/21: TP:JR: Latest Polling Finds Strong Support For Clean Energy And Stricter Carbon Pollution Standards
• 2013/02/21: Resilience: 5 reasons why the Keystone XL pipeline is bad for the economy
• 2013/02/20: TP:JR: Supporters Of Keystone XL Outspend Opponents 35 To 1
• 2013/02/13: BBerg: Keystone's Thousands of Jobs Fall to 20 When Pipeline Opens
• 2013/02/20: Grist:The Keystone XL pipeline could create as many as 20 long-term jobs
• 2013/02/20: TreeHugger: Is Keystone worth the fight?
• 2013/02/20: TMoS: About Those Keystone XL Jobs
• 2013/02/20: CBC: Kerry speech ominous for Keystone XL pipeline -- First policy address urges action on climate change
• 2013/02/20: Guardian(UK): Keystone XL will have 'no impact on climate change', TransCanada boss says
• 2013/02/19: Grist: The virtues of being unreasonable on Keystone
• 2013/02/19: EconBrowser: Some Environmental Issues Surrounding Keystone XL
• 2013/02/18: FDL: Obama's Choice to Alienate Environmental Activists and Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline
• 2013/02/18: CCurrents: Pseudo-Protests And Serious Climate Crisis
• 2013/02/18: DemNow: Tens of Thousands Rally to Stop Keystone XL Pipeline & Urge Obama to Move "Forward on Climate"
• 2013/02/19: FAIR: Friendly Oil-Not the Venezuelan Kind
• 2013/02/19: CBC: TransCanada says Keystone XL will not affect climate
• 2013/02/19: KBZK:CBS: Texas rancher won't budge for Keystone pipeline
• 2013/02/19: Grist: At climate rally, some signs of fraying in a movement's big tent
• 2013/02/18: G&M: The politics of emissions: Keystone is an easier target than U.S. coal-fired power plants
  Canada's oil sands are one of the most carbon-intensive sources of crude in the world, and for American climate activists, the Keystone XL pipeline represents a "line in the sand" on climate policy. But greenhouse gas produced by the oil sands is a fraction of the amount spewed by U.S. coal-fired power plants. In 2010, the oil sands produced 48 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions. Coal-fired power plants in the state of Wisconsin alone produced 43 million tons.
• 2013/02/18: DeSmogBlog: The Keystone Principle
• 2013/02/18: Guardian(UK): President Obama should reject the Keystone XL pipeline by Daryl Hannah & Michael Brune
• 2013/02/18: CSM: Keystone XL? 'Shut it down' protestors say, Senators ask Obama to approve it
• 2013/02/17: CSM: Will shale stop the Keystone XL pipeline?
  

  Post "Forward on Climate" commentary:

• 2013/02/21: CSW: Photos from the climate demonstration in Washington DC February 17
• 2013/02/20: Grist: While protestors surrounded the White House, Obama was golfing with oil executives
• 2013/02/20: CCP: Obama Golfed With Oil Men As Climate Protesters Descended On White House
• 2013/02/19: TP:JR: Faith Groups Add Their Voices To The 'Forward on Climate' Chorus
• 2013/02/20: DeSmogBlog: What's in a Number?: Media and Government Downplay Keystone XL Climate Rally Attendance
• 2013/02/21: GLaden: Forward on Climate Rally - February 17, 2013
• 2013/02/18: ICN: Biggest Environmental Rally in Decades Attracts Nationwide Media Attention
• 2013/02/18: Grist: Tens of thousands march on White House in rally for climate action
• 2013/02/18: OilChange: 50,000 Say NO to KXL
• 2013/02/18: al Jazeera: Thousands rally against US oil pipeline
  Protesters in Washington, DC call on Obama to reject controversial pipeline and honour pledge to act on global warming.
• 2013/02/17: TP:JR: USA Today On Keystone XL Rally: 'Tens Of Thousands Demand Action On Climate Change'
• 2013/02/17: CPW: "Forward on Climate": 35 0000 March on Washington for Climate Action
  

  The GOP War on Women continues. See also:

• 2013/02/18: Salon: North Dakota Senate passes "personhood" bill granting legal rights to fertilized eggs
  The measure now moves to the House, where abortion rights advocates fear it will pass
• 2013/02/19: RawStory: Alabama lawmaker [Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin (R)]: Fetus is 'the largest organ in a body'
• 2013/02/15: Care2C: Lady-Brains Can't Make Their Own Medical Decisons
• 2013/02/18: HuffPo: Planned Parenthood Wisconsin Closes Four Clinics Due To State Funding Cuts
  

  The NorthWest coal export debate remains heated:

• 2013/02/21: TP:JR: 2012 U.S. Coal Exports Reach Record High
• 2013/02/20: Grist: Oregon governor questions wisdom of headlong coal-export push
  

  Regarding Monnett:

• 2013/02/20: CCP: BOEM Witch Hunt Against Polar Bear Scientist Charles Monnett Finally Over???
  

  Now that he doesn't need their vote any more, how will Obama treat liberals and their policy issues?

• 2013/02/19: Resilience: Sliding down the slippery slope: A truth too big for Obama
  "Now, the good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue [climate change] while driving strong economic growth."
  With that sentence from his State of the Union address, President Obama capitulated to paltry cynicism. Alas, he will not be the president who finally comes clean on the trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection. Obama is now committed to win-win, green-growth rhetoric.
• 2013/02/22: CSW: Calling on Obama to hold a solutions-oriented national climate summit
• 2013/02/22: ERabett: Markers
• 2013/02/22: Guardian(UK): Keystone XL decision will define Barack Obama's legacy on climate change
• 2013/02/22: SMandia: President Obama: Climate Leader or Paper Tiger?
• 2013/02/22: CCP: John Abraham: Keystone XL decision will define Barack Obama's legacy on climate change
• 2013/02/21: FDL: Obama Golfed With Oil Lobby During Keystone Pipeline Protest
• 2013/02/20: TP:JR: The First Climate Test For Obama 2.0 - the Keystone Pipeline
• 2013/02/19: CCP: NYT: Holding Obama's Feet to the Climate-Change Fire
  

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

• 2013/02/22: PNNL: PNNL rolls out its clean energy tech at ARPA-E
• 2013/02/22: Grist: USDA says crops will do better but food prices will do worse
• 2013/02/22: EnvEcon: Carbon Regulation Watch
• 2013/02/21: AutoBG: DOE confirms LG Chem battery plant workers were paid not to make Chevy Volt batteries
• 2013/02/21: TheHill:RW: Groups flock to White House to talk 'fracking' rules
  Environmental advocates and representatives from the oil-and-gas industry are flocking to the White House following the submission of a draft rule that would govern the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing on public lands. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in January pulled a long-awaited proposed rule to regulate hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking," after receiving a flood of public comments and push-back from industry. A new draft was sent to the White House on Jan. 22, but the document will not become public until the BLM officially proposes it. Groups are seeking to make their mark on the new rules before they are issued.
• 2013/02/19: WaPo: EPA official quits amid e-mail scrutiny
  A senior Environmental Protection Agency official overseeing states in the West and Great Plains resigned Friday, amid intense congressional scrutiny over how EPA appointees have used personal e-mail addresses to conduct official business. Region 8 administrator James Martin, whose office has jurisdiction over Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 tribal nations, resigned "for personal reasons" according to EPA spokeswoman Alisha Johnson.
• 2013/02/21: BPA: A Little Quibble I Had With Ken Salazar Last Week
  

  As for what is going on in Congress:

• 2013/02/21: RawStory: Sen. Rand Paul 'not familiar with the details' of anti-abortion bill he sponsored
• 2013/02/15: TheHill:e2W: Wyden floats plan to boost geothermal energy
  

  What are the lobbyists pushing?

• 2013/02/23: Grist: Not-so-smart ALEC: How the lobbying group uses bad data to fight clean energy
• 2013/02/23: NakedCapitalism: Not-So-Smart ALEC: The Right Wing vs. Renewable Energy
  

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

• 2013/02/24: OilDrum: Tech Talk - Thoughts on the Precautionary Principle
• 2013/02/21: Atlantic: The End of Growth Wouldn't Be the End of Capitalism by Noah Smith
  

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

• 2013/02/22: DerSpiegel: World from Berlin: German Bishops Accept Morning-After Pill
  In a significant reversal just one month after two Catholic hospitals refused to treat a victim of sexual assault, Germany's bishops on Thursday approved the use of the "morning-after pill" in rape cases. German commentators say the step doesn't go far enough.
• 2013/02/22: WSWS: Philippine reproductive health bill continues to illegalize abortion
  

  Apocalypso anyone?

• 2013/02/22: Slate: Could Humans Go Extinct? There's a chance we're living in end times
  

  How do the media measure up?

• 2013/02/23: PSinclair: Bumper Sticker of the Week
• 2013/02/20: Grist: Joe Nocera knows from boneheaded
• 2013/02/19: EconoSpeak: Don't Take Nocera for an Answer
• 2013/02/23: CJR: Beijing's blinding pollution -- The press should not ignore dirty air in other cities
• 2013/02/20: FAIR: Why Does a Climatologist Need to Explain Economics to Joe Nocera?
• 2013/02/19: TP:JR: James Hansen Slams Joe Nocera For Failure To 'Understand Basic Economics' And Selective Quotation
• 2013/02/19: CCP: A. Siegel: Elementary arithmetic beyond Joe Nocera's grasp?
• 2013/02/19: PSinclair: Study Links Tobacco, Tea Party, Climate Denial .... and Fox News
• 2013/02/19: TP:JR: Big Oil Mocks Climate Action With Help From Big Media
  

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

• 2013/02/22: AlexandraMorton: Alex Talks Episode one
• 2013/02/20: PSinclair: Admiral Titley: A New Arctic - Climate Change and National Security
• 2013/02/23: DbP: Hip hop artist Rellik with Nathan Cunningham: Idle No More video
• 2013/02/19: P3: On Donors Trust
• 2013/02/15: UStream: NASA/JPL video - Geoengineering and Climate Change, Concepts for directly and deliberately manipulating Earth's climate system...
• 2013/02/18: Moyhu: Hurricanes and SST - movies
  

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2013/02/22: UCSUSA: California Energy Case Names Koch, Shows Need For Diverse Portfolio
• 2013/02/22: Tyee: Fracking: [Canadian] Feds Throw Wrench in High Profile Lawsuit
• 2013/02/22: AutoBG: Big Oil to take EPA's ethanol blend law to Supreme Court
• 2013/02/23: CSM: 'Trial of the century': Can BP deflect blame for Gulf oil spill?
• 2013/02/24: al Jazeera: In the ring: Monsanto and the farmer
  The court will resist Bowman, as it granted seed firms the right to limit farmers' ability to save the patented seeds.
• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): BP to fight government's 'excessive' demands over Deepwater oil spill
  Oil giant says it has failed to reach a settlement over fatal 2010 blowout and would rather go to court than continue negotiations
• 2013/02/19: CBC: Judge approves $1B Transocean spill settlement
• 2013/02/15: HuffPo: Exxon Cease-And-Desist Order Gets Climate Change Ad Pulled From State Of The Union Coverage
  

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

• 2013/02/21: EurActiv: Minister: German 'green revolution' could cost E1 trillion [over 20 years]
• 2013/02/20: Resilience: The big shift
• 2013/02/22: BizGreen: Saudi Arabia invites companies to bid for colossal renewables contracts [54 GW by 2032]
• 2013/02/22: CleanTechnica: 100% Renewable Energy: Becoming the New Normal?
• 2013/02/19: TreeHugger: German town [Feldheim] goes off the grid, achieves energy independence
• 2013/02/19: TreeHugger: The air quality in Fairbanks, Alaska is worse than in Beijing
• 2013/02/18: TreeHugger: U.S. added 147 megawatts of geothermal energy in 2012
• 2013/02/18: TMoS: The Tortured Road to Energy Transition. Who Said It Was Going to Be Easy?
  

  What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?

• 2013/02/20: RTCC: UN launches Africa plan to swap kerosene for solar
• 2013/02/19: TreeHugger: Wind Surpasses Nuclear in China
• 2013/02/18: G&M: The politics of emissions: Keystone is an easier target than U.S. coal-fired power plants
  Canada's oil sands are one of the most carbon-intensive sources of crude in the world, and for American climate activists, the Keystone XL pipeline represents a "line in the sand" on climate policy. But greenhouse gas produced by the oil sands is a fraction of the amount spewed by U.S. coal-fired power plants. In 2010, the oil sands produced 48 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions. Coal-fired power plants in the state of Wisconsin alone produced 43 million tons.
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/02/22: CSM: The shale phenomenon: fabulous miracle with a fatal flaw
• 2013/02/22: RTCC: UN climate talks host Poland to accelerate shale gas push
• 2013/02/21: TheHill:RW: Groups flock to White House to talk 'fracking' rules
• 2013/02/21: CChallenge: Hydraulic Fracturing ~ Collection of information sources
• 2013/02/21: Resilience: Fort Collins bans fracking as democracy comes alive in Colorado
• 2013/02/21: Resilience: "Drill Baby Drill" - popping the shale bubble
• 2013/02/21: Resilience: The Making of a Natural Gas Glut
• 2013/02/20: OilChange: Beware the Shale Gas Bubble
• 2013/02/20: NatureN: China slow to tap shale-gas bonanza -- Geology and infrastructure could impede development
• 2013/02/20: EENews: EPA officials ignored engineer's theory in Range contamination case [frack]
• 2013/02/19: Grist: How one fracking company bullies residents and elected officials alike
• 2013/02/19: Grist: Why the fracking boom may actually be an economic bubble
• 2013/02/19: MacroBiz: Fracking the country side
• 2013/02/19: AppalachiaResist: Ohio Residents Shut Down Fracking Waste Storage Facility
• 2013/02/19: DeSmogBlog: Reports: Shale Gas Bubble Looms, Aided by Wall Street
• 2013/02/18: CSM: Shale gas boom slows in Marcellus formation
  Energy experts say the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas production will slow this year but not because there's any lack of supply. The slowdown is happening because drillers are waiting for pipelines to expand, new markets to develop and wholesale prices to rise.
• 2013/02/17: Resilience: Natural gas consumers just got a big subsidy from investors, but it can't continue
  

  On the coal front:

• 2013/02/21: WSWS: Another West Virginia coal miner killed
• 2013/02/20: DerSpiegel: Last Shift in the Shaft: Coal Companies Refuse to Pay Mining Victims
  After two centuries of coal mining in Germany companies are pulling out of the industrial Ruhr region, leaving millions of dollars worth of damage in their wake. Though companies used to compensate the victims of mining operations, some are now resorting to dubious tactics to escape responsibility.
• 2013/02/21: OSU: New Coal Technology [Coal-Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL)] Harnesses Energy Without Burning, Nears Pilot-Scale Development
• 2013/02/20: WSWS: US coal companies shed 7,700 jobs in 2012
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Coal-generated power here to stay: study
• 2013/02/18: SciNow: Coal Plants Are Victims of Their Own Economics
• 2013/02/19: WSWS: Two more US coal miners killed
  

  On the gas and oil front:

• 2013/02/22: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Dated Brent Spot....114.10
  WTI Cushing Spot.....93.13
• 2013/02/22: EarlyWarning: OECD Oil Consumption
• 2013/02/21: Grist: [Encana] Oil company executive swears at analyst, tries to get recording off the internet
• 2013/02/21: Grist: Gas prices are spiking, and it's not clear why
• 2013/02/21: RealEconomics: Gas prices and other energy issues
• 2013/02/21: BBerg: U.S. Oil Demand Fell to 18-Year Low for January, API Says
• 2013/02/20: OilDrum: Our Investment Sinkhole Problem
• 2013/02/19: G&M: Geologist's provocative study challenges popular assumptions about 'fracking'
  With debate over hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" running at a fever pitch, it seems the only thing everyone can agree on is that, for better or worse, there is plenty of natural gas down there for the taking. Now a provocative analysis of unconventional fuel reserves in the United States aims to slap a big question mark over that assumption. In a comprehensive look at all the major shale gas plays currently being tapped across the U.S., the study focuses on the rapid decline of individual gas wells, along with entire fields, and concludes that optimistic projections for a long-running boom that will unleash cheap gas for decades to come are unwarranted. "The hype around shale gas is just that," said David Hughes, a geologist and former research manager with the Geological Survey of Canada who authored the study, which was released on Tuesday. Dr. Hughes is not exactly reporting from neutral ground. The study was sponsored by the Post Carbon Institute, a California-based think tank that promotes sustainable energy. Yet, Dr. Hughes says, the numbers are there in black and white, drawn from a widely used industry database. It's not that shale gas isn't abundant, Dr. Hughes says, but that fracking only releases gas from a relatively small volume of rock. And apart from a few "sweet spots," much of the overall reserve is of relatively marginal quality. Once the sweet spots are tapped out, continuing to get gas out of the ground at the current rate is going to require a vastly ramped-up effort with attendant environmental costs. The likely outcome, he says, is a decline in production and a rise in price, which means that expectations that gas will replace coal as an economically viable, cleaner burning alternative, or enable the U.S. to become a net exporter of liquid natural gas, are off base.
• 2013/02/18: PCI: [links to pdfs] Drill Baby Drill
• 2013/02/19: McClatchyDC: They're drilling, baby, drilling -- and gas prices still going up
• 2013/02/19: ICN: Oil Sands Mining Uses Up Almost as Much Energy as It Produces
  Thanks to high global oil prices, industry can afford the large amount of energy needed to extract the oil and turn it into a usable fuel.
• 2013/02/18: Resilience: The export capacity index
• 2013/02/18: TP:JR: Fossil Fuel-Generated Energy Has Real External Costs
  

  Regarding fossil fuels and the economy:

• 2013/02/21: POGGE: Fracking, climate change and the world economy
  

  And in pipeline news:

• 2013/02/17: EconBrowser: Planned crude oil pipelines
• 2013/02/18: P3: Thinking beyond pipelines: A rebuttal
  

  Marvelous. Now the USA can have their own Mechanical Mordor:

• 2013/02/21: SLTrib: Protesters demonstrate against planned tar-sand mine in eastern Utah
  

  A rush of American triumphalism pervades the energy independence PR campaign. Think it will last?

• 2013/02/20: CSM: US oil production will soar in 2013. Can it last?
  

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2013/02/21: American: Memories of Peak Oil by Vaclav Smil
  Is it too much to hope that even some catastrophists and peak-oil cultists will find it impossible to ignore the latest numbers?
• 2013/02/22: E&C: Past Peak Oil -- World Oil Supply
• 2013/02/12: MDPI: Ten Reasons to Take Peak Oil Seriously by Robert J. Brecha
  

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2013/02/23: DD: Indonesia's palm oil developers threaten the Congo Basin - 'The Indonesians came here for the first time in September 2010 and started to destroy properties, farmlands, crops, livestock, and houses'
• 2013/02/22: AutoBG: BioBot will make your biodiesel easy as pie for just $1 a gallon
• 2013/02/20: Eureka: Scientists publish analysis of algae parasite impact on algae biofuel in PLoS One
• 2013/02/20: DD: Biofuel rush wiping out America's grasslands at fastest pace since the 1930s Dust Bowl...
• 2013/02/19: MITNews: Engineering cells for more efficient biofuel production -- Yeast research takes a step toward production of alternatives to gasoline
  

  The answer my friend...:

• 2013/02/13: LWoN: Bad Wind Made Better
• 2013/02/22: UCSUSA:B: PTC Extension Already Making a Big Difference for Wind
• 2013/02/19: ABC(Au): Acciona dumps wind farm plan [Allendale East, south of Mount Gambier]
  

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2013/02/22: TreeHugger: Meet Luci, the solar lantern that shines a light on energy poverty
• 2013/02/20: UN: Solar lighting can deliver major development and climate benefits - UN agency
• 2013/02/20: Grist: Honda partners with SolarCity to subsidize solar panels for customers
• 2013/02/20: TP:JR: Honda And SolarCity Partner On Low-Cost Home Solar Power Leases
• 2013/02/17: TP:JR: Chinese Companies Projected To Make Solar Panels for 42 Cents Per Watt In 2015
  

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2013/02/23: CCurrents: Civilian Nuclear Proliferation And Deep Democracy
• 2013/02/20: NBF: General Atomics Calls for game-changing nuclear technology
• 2013/02/19: Guardian(UK): We cannot afford not to have nuclear in our low-carbon energy mix
• 2013/02/18: NBF: China connects a new nuclear reactor to the grid and Areva has a record year in uranium production
  

  Nuclear waste storage requires _very_ long term thinking:

• 2013/02/24: al Jazeera: Washington nuclear waste tanks 'leaking'
  Leaks found in six underground storage tanks at Hanford nuclear reservation in US state "disturbing", officials say.
• 2013/02/23: BBC: Washington State nuclear waste tanks 'leaking'
  Six underground storage tanks at a nuclear site in the US state of Washington are leaking, authorities say. Governor Jay Inslee described the situation at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation as "disturbing news".
• 2013/02/23: ABC(Au): Underground tanks leak nuclear waste in US
  At least six underground tanks containing nuclear waste in the north-western US state of Washington are leaking, but a spokeswoman says there is no imminent threat to public health. The US Energy Department told the state last week that one tank was leaking at the Hanford nuclear site. But energy secretary Steven Chu informed its governor Jay Inslee on Friday that more leaks had been discovered.
• 2013/02/23: CCurrents: Cancer Threat From Radioactive Leaks At Hanford
• 2013/02/23: CSM: 6 leaky tanks ooze radioactive waste at Hanford nuclear site in Washington
• 2013/02/22: EneNews: Governor: "We received very disturbing news today" - Radioactive leak at U.S. nuclear site much larger than first reported - No 'immediate' health risks
• 2013/02/22: BBerg: Six Nuclear Waste Tanks Leaking at Washington State Site
• 2013/02/22: CBC: Washington's Hanford nuclear tanks leaking waste, again
  Six underground tanks that hold a brew of radioactive and toxic waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site are leaking, federal and state officials said Friday. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the leaking material poses no immediate risk to public safety or the environment because it would take a while -- perhaps years -- to reach groundwater. But the leaking tanks raise new concerns about delays for emptying them and strike another blow to federal efforts to clean up south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation, where successes often are overshadowed by delays, budget overruns and technological challenges.
• 2013/02/21: DerSpiegel: Abyss of Uncertainty: Germany's Homemade Nuclear Waste Disaster
  Some 126,000 barrels of nuclear waste have been dumped in the Asse II salt mine over the last 50 years. German politicians are pushing for a law promising their removal. But the safety, technical and financial hurdles are enormous, and experts warn that removal is more dangerous than leaving them put.
• 2013/02/20: CSM: Who will clean up after the nuclear plants?
• 2013/02/20: NakedCapitalism: Who Will Pay for Nuclear Power Plant Cleanup?
• 2013/02/20: ABC(US): Gov: 6 Underground Hanford Nuclear Tanks Leaking
  Washington state's governor says 6 underground tanks at Hanford nuclear reservation leaking
• 2013/02/19: DailyAstorian: [Editorial] A perfect radioactive storm
  Hanford tank leaks alarm Washington governor; fix needed now
  "Perfect radioactive storm" are not words any resident along the Columbia River ever wanted to hear coming from the lips of a top elected official about the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Yet this is how Washington Gov. Jay Inslee last week characterized news about a major leak of highly toxic sludge from a single-wall storage tank, at the very time the nation nears across-the-board funding cuts that could hobble any response.
• 2013/02/18: NewScientist: Nuclear waste: too hot to handle?
  There are 437 nuclear power reactors in 31 countries around the world. The number of repositories for high-level radioactive waste? Zero. The typical lifespan of a nuclear power plant is 60 years. The waste from nuclear power is dangerous for up to one million years. Clearly, the waste problem is not going to go away any time soon.
• 
  

  Nuclear fusion projects around the world limp along:

   

• 2013/02/20: ScienceInsider: Future U.S. Fusion Research Should Keep Options Open, Report Concludes
• 2013/02/20: Eureka: Potential benefits of inertial fusion energy justify continued R&D
  Potential benefits of inertial fusion energy justify continued R&D; nationally coordinated program should wait until ignition is achieved
• 
  

  Low energy nuclear keeps coming up:

   

• 2013/02/20: GizMag: NASA's basement nuclear reactor
  

  More people are talking about the electrical grid:

• 2013/02/23: TStar: Sparks fly in New Hampshire over Hydro-Quebec's Northern Pass power line
  Hydro-Quebec and other power companies want to build a power line down the length of New Hampshire. But some residents say it will despoil their state.
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/02/22: AutoBG: Forbes columnist says Tesla EVs are 'niche' vehicles, just like most cars
• 2013/02/21: TreeHugger: 261 MPG Volkswagen XL1 diesel plug-in hybrid to be produced in limited quantities
• 2013/02/21: AutoBG: Numbers don't lie: plug-in sales ahead of early hybrid sales
• 2013/02/21: AutoBG: Tesla's Elon Musk offers "final" thoughts on NYT spat, but Twitter flames continue
• 2013/02/20: SciAm:PI: Electric Vehicle Deployment -- Where Should We Be Today?
• 2013/02/20: TreeHugger: Are plug-in cars selling badly?
• 2013/02/20: Guardian(UK): Estonia launches national electric car charging network
  165 charging points around the country will use direct current to charge cars in less than 30 minutes
• 2013/02/18: CBC: Bombardier to test electric buses that charge wirelessly -- Montreal test next winter, German test in spring 2014
  

  As for Energy Storage:

• 2013/02/22: CSM: Boeing plan: Fix batteries to get Dreamliners flying again
• 2013/02/21: AutoBG: DOE confirms LG Chem battery plant workers were paid not to make Chevy Volt batteries
• 2013/02/19: TreeHugger: Different name, same liquid metal batteries!
• 2013/02/19: G&M: In eastern Ontario, a battery five times the size of Niagara Falls
• 2013/02/20: BCLSB: Pumped Storage To Back Up Wind
  

  The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

• 2013/02/22: BBerg: How Diageo Cut Its Carbon 38 Years Early
• 2013/02/21: ABC(Au):TDU: Business attitude to environment depends on bottom line
  Corporations will only act responsibly towards the environment if it is in the firm's commercial interest to do so. 'Brand attack' campaigns and government regulation are our best weapons, writes David Ritter.
• 
  

  Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

   

• 2013/02/22: ABC(Au): Assessing the risk of future floods
  Amid concerns of more flooding in the future, the insurance industry wants the Queensland Government to relocate flood-prone homes and infrastructure.
• 2013/02/19: DD: Australia re-rated on international reinsurance markets after another summer of flooding and extreme weather - Costs soar for reinsurers: 'Insurers must rate to risk. If they don't, they have a real difficulty in terms of solvency.'
  

  Who's fielding theFAQs?

• 2013/02/18: ABC(Au): Is coal still being formed today?
  

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

• 2013/02/22: TP:JR: February 22 News...
• 2013/02/21: TP:JR: February 21 News...
• 2013/02/20: TP:JR: February 20 News...
• 2013/02/19: TP:JR: February 19 News...
  

  Other (weekly) lists:

• 2013/02/23: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #8 by John Hartz
• 2013/02/23: SkS: 2013 SkS News Bulletin #1: Alberta Tar Sands, Keystone XL Pipeline, and Forward on Climate Rally by John Hartz
• 2013/02/19: BPA: More Plowed Grasslands. Plus, Other Agriculture News This Week
  

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2013/02/20: HotWhopper: Whither winter weather whether weather or climate
• 2013/02/21: CCP: Justin Gillis: Unlocking the Conspiracy Mind-Set
• 2013/02/22: CDL: Fritz Vahrenholt
• 2013/02/22: NewAnthropocene: Are Wetlands Worthless Because They Are Inedible?
• 2013/02/21: Grist: Head of American Petroleum Institute [Gerard] doesn't see a need to regulate carbon anymore
• 2013/02/23: HotWhopper: Still More on: Parody or the Real Thing?
• 2013/02/22: TMoS: The Social Science of Climate Change
• 2013/02/19: CDL: Duncan Wingham
• 2013/02/19: TP:JR: Heartland's James Taylor Falsely Claims New Study Rejects Climate Consensus
• 2013/02/19: ERabett: More Heartland, Less Sense
• 2013/02/19: HotWhoppers: Double Doozy from Denmor
• 2013/02/18: DeSmogBlog: How To Spot A Fake Grassroots Movement
• 2013/02/15: HuffPo: Exxon Cease-And-Desist Order Gets Climate Change Ad Pulled From State Of The Union Coverage
  

  This week in intimidation:

• 2013/02/19: Grist: How one fracking company bullies residents and elected officials alike
  

  I imagine we will hear about this Donors Trust fixing for some time:

• 2013/02/15: GP: Donors Trust: Laundering Climate Denial Funding -- The shadow operation that has laundered $146 million in climate-denial funding
• 2013/02/15: GP: Revealed: Donors Trust is the secret ATM machine for climate deniers
• 2013/02/19: TP:JR: Secretive Donors Trust Pumps Far More Money Into Climate Denial And Inaction Than Kochs And Exxon Mobil Combined
• 2013/02/19: CJR: Digging for dark money -- Guardian, CPI expose secretive climate-denial funding network
• 2013/02/19: DemNow: The ATM for Climate Denial: Secretive Donors Trust Funds Vast Network of Global Warming Skeptics
• 2013/02/18: Monbiot: Billionaires are hiding behind a network of "independent" groups, who manipulate politics on their behalf
• 2013/02/19: CCP: George Monbiot: Secrets of the Rich -- Billionaires are hiding behind a network of "independent" groups, who manipulate politics on their behalf
• 2013/02/19: P3: On Donors Trust
• 2013/02/19: PSinclair: Donor's Trust: ATM for Climate Denial
• 2013/02/14: CPI: Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states
  Nonprofit group lets donors fly 'totally under the radar'
  • Donors Trust is a Virginia-based charity that has passed nearly $400 million from private donors to free-market causes since 1999.
  • Dozens of major conservative philanthropies hold Donors Trust accounts, including two run by industrialist Charles Koch (see graphic).
  • Donors Trust has funded at least 51 state-level, free-market think tanks since 2007.
  • A conservative media outlet called the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity drew 95 percent of its revenue from Donors Trust in 2011.
• 
  

  As for climate miscellanea:

   

• 2013/02/20: GLaden: Climate Change vs. Global Warming
• 2013/02/19: DeSmogBlog: The Resurgence of an Evolving Climate Movement, Part 2
• 2013/02/21: TheConversation: Orwellian climate double-speak dominating discussion
• 2013/02/20: ERabett:BSD: A request to readers - give us your Rubio climate rebuttals
• 2013/02/22: Grist: Supply, demand, and activism: What should the climate movement do next?
• 2013/02/22: Grist: How the environmental movement can save the environment
• 2013/02/22: GreenGrok: Climate Change Chatter, 5th Edition [quotes]
• 2013/02/17: CCurrents: The Planetary Crisis Of Climate Change Is Not Political... It's Physics
• 2013/02/19: LoE: What on Earth are we doing?
  

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

• Biogeosciences - BGD - Papers in Open Discussion
• PCI: Post Carbon Institute
• Wiki: Energy flow (ecology)
• Wiki: Trophic level
• C-R: Common Resources, the Resources For the Future [RFF] blog
• 40 Days for a Future - An Unprecedented Crisis Calls For Unprecedented Action
• Precarious Climate [Note CoA&N (Used to be Planet James)]
• RO'R: O'Reilly Radar - Insight, analysis, and research about emerging technologies
• Pablo Solon
• Petroleum Truth Report
• UPlymouth: Secchi Disk Project
• SCOTUSBlog: Bowman v. Monsanto Co. [History & links]
• Shale Bubble
• CME: Carbon + Energy Markets
• Eco-Business - Asia's Cleantech & Sustainable Business Community
• The Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas
• Cornell: System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

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.

A Simple Plea

Webmasters, web coders and content providers have mercy on your low bandwidth brethren. Because I am on dial-up, I am a text surfer -- no images, no javascript and no flash. When you post a graphic, will you please use the alt text field ... and when you embed a youtube/vimeo/flash video, please add some minimal description. Thank you.

<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.

"We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population or the natural world will do it for us." - David Attenborough

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