Today's Climate

States Granted Control of Emissions (The Washington Times)
A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out a Bush administration policy that allowed only the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor polluting industries, giving states broader authority over emissions control.

Carbon Funds Grow in '08 But Slowed by Uncertainty (Reuters)
The global carbon fund market, which invests in emissions offset credits from clean energy projects in developing countries, has risen by 63 percent to nearly $13 billion so far in 2008, environmental market analysts said on Thursday.

NYC Mayor Calls for Wind Turbines Atop Skyscrapers (Reuters)
Wind turbines would top New York City skyscrapers and bridges and dot the city's shorelines, while the mighty tides that drive the Hudson and East Rivers would also generate power under a new plan Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented on Tuesday.

New Sea Change Forecasts Present a Slimy Picture (Christian Science Monitor)
Earth’s oceans are on the brink of massive change. A new overview warns that such relentless human impacts as overfishing or agricultural pollution – as well as global warming – threaten mass extinctions of marine life.

Containing Climate Change: An Opportunity for U.S. Leadership (Foreign Affairs)
The United States can curb its own emissions and encourage energy effeciency and the development of clean-energy technology worldwide by rethinking carbon regimes. (Subscription Required)

Stock by Stock, Is Solar Coming Back? (Earth2Tech)
Suntech Power’s saw its stock rally more than 12 percent to $41.75 Wednesday after earnings showed revenue in the second quarter were up 51 percent from the same quarter a year earlier to $480 million. Analysts had been expecting $439 million.

Scientists Urge U.S. to Protect Economy from Climate (Reuters)
Eight scientific organizations urged the next U.S. president to help protect the country from climate change by pushing for increased funding for research and forecasting, saying about $2 trillion of U.S. economic output could be hurt by storms, floods and droughts.

Solazyme Targets Algae Fuel in Three Years (CNET)
In the race to make sustainably grown biofuels, algae is the great green hope. Growing algae is not hard. But making enough to be competitive with fossil fuel prices has eluded the many companies and researchers betting on algae as a biofuel feedstock. Solazyme CEO Jonathan Wolfson on Wednesday said that his company will be able to produce millions of gallons of algae-derived biodiesel in three years.

Google Puts $10 Million into New Geothermal Technology (Reuters)
Google said Tuesday that it would invest more than US$10 million in an emerging geothermal energy technology as part of its effort to lower the cost of electricity from renewable sources.

Birds Not Following Changing Climate Fast Enough (Telegraph)
Over the past two decades, a Universite Montpellier study finds, bird communities have shifted 50 mile northward. However the temperature change zone within the same as two decades has shifted by 170 miles, signifying a 120 mile lag by bird communities.

E.ON Looks at £300 Million Investment to Build Britain's Largest Biomass Plant (Guardian)
E.ON, the energy company whose plans for Britain's first new coal-fired power station for more than two decades have sparked fierce protests, said yesterday it was considering a £300m investment in building one of the country's biggest biomass power plants.

McCain Appears on Oil Rig to Strengthen Call for Offshore Drilling (Guardian)
John McCain appeared today on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico to call for more drilling along the US coastline, restaging a rally that was scuttled weeks ago by a hurricane – and a major oil spill.

Rich Urged to Set Deep Climate Cuts, Without US (Reuters)
Rich nations should not wait for the election of a new US president before making progress on agreeing ambitious 2020 greenhouse gas cuts, the chair of a UN committee said on Monday ahead of climate talks in Ghana.

Warming Climate Threatens Alaska's Vast Forests (Reuters)
Here in a 13,700-year-old peat bog, ecologist Ed Berg reaches into the moss and pulls out more evidence of the drastic changes afoot due to the Earth's warming climate. Altogether more than 3 million acres of spruce have been killed in south-central Alaska since 1992, the biggest recorded outbreak in North American history.

Geothermal Energy May Supply 5% of Australian Power, Group Says (Bloomberg.com)
Geothermal energy could supply as much as 5 percent of Australia's electricity requirements by 2020 with an investment of about AUS$12 billion ($10.4 billion), helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, an industry group said.

Sending Waste to China Saves Carbon (Guardian)
Sending old newspapers and plastic bottles 10,000 miles for recycling in China produces more carbon savings than landfilling it in Britain and making new goods, reveals a study from the government body charged with reducing UK waste.

Australian Expert Says Sea Levels to Rise Four Meters (Radio Australia)
An Australian climate change expert says the world's sea levels could rise by up to four meters this century. "The evidence over the past 12 to 18 months suggests that we have underestimated how fast this aspect of the earth's system can change," he said.

Trial Drilling for Frozen Gas to Start in 2012 (Japan Times)
The government plans to start trial drilling in 2012 to extract frozen methane hydrate buried under the seabed to test if the natural gas is a viable next-generation fuel.

Anti-regulation Aide to Cheney is Up for Energy Post (Washington Post)
A senior Cheney aide is the leading contender to become a top official at the Energy Dept. This would put one of the administration's most ardent opponents of environmental regulation in charge of forming department policies on climate change.

Converging Pathways: The Chemical Industry and Environmentalists (Chemical and Engineering News)
Could the chemical industry, the people who brought us DDT, Bhopal, the ozone hole, and plastic bag litter, become the source of more sustainable manufacturing, commerce, and lifestyles? That's what chemical company executives would have us believe.

Q-Cells signs 800MW Module Deal with SunEdison (PV Tech)
In a joint development to operate PV solar power plants in North America, Q-Cells International USA and SunEdison have signed an 800MW module supply deal over 5-years.

House Majority Leader: “Let’s Invest in Clean Energy” (Wall Street Journal)
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) opines in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today on what he’d do with a hypothetical $10 billion dollars.

Coal's Toxic Legacy to the Arctic (BBC News)
Coal burning in western Europe and North America has been a prime source of heavy metal pollution in the Arctic.Scientists plotted levels of thallium, cadmium and lead in a Greenland ice core and linked them to other chemicals indicating coal as the main origin.

Bill Clinton: 10 Things the U.S. Government Should Do For Clean Power (Earth2Tech)
The 42 U.S. President, Bill Clinton delivered a top-10 laundry list of actions that the U.S. government should take to help solve the energy crisis during a speech to kick off the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas on Monday night.

DfID Pours Cold Water on 'River Wars' Warning (Politics.co.uk)
The British government has sought to dampen down concern from conservation groups that "water wars" are a growing threat to global security following the WWF’s call on states to vote in favor of a UN convention on international waterways to prevent future conflicts based around competition for water resources.

Octillion Researching Development Of PV Window Technologies (Solar Daily)
Octillion has announced that it has entered into a Sponsored Research Agreement with scientists at Oakland University to further the development of its NanoPower Window technology.

Big Blue Launches “Green Sigma” (CNET)
IBM has launched Green Sigma, a new consulting practice focused on reducing energy and water usage by using networked sensors and data analysis software.

Republicans Skeptical of Pelosi's Offshore-Drilling Proposal (Wall Street Journal)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's proposal Saturday to make expanded offshore drilling part of a new Democratic energy bill got a skeptical reaction from Republicans. [Subscription Required]

“Clean Coal” Lobbying Jumps to $4.65M (Earth2Tech)
The lobbying arm of coal-reliant companies that are calling for “cleaner coal” jumped up to a sizable $4.65 million for this year, according to recent data from the Center for Responsive Politics, nearly doubling its lobbying efforts from last year.

Australian, U.S. Scientists Copy Nature to Produce Hydrogen (Bloomberg)
Australian and U.S. scientists said they have copied a process found in plants that uses sunlight to make hydrogen from water, potentially a cleaner and lower-cost method of making the gas for use in fuel cells.

A Push to Increase Icebreakers in the Arctic (New York Times)
A growing array of military leaders, Arctic experts and lawmakers say the United States is losing its ability to patrol and safeguard Arctic waters even as climate change and high energy prices have triggered a burst of shipping and oil and gas exploration in the thawing region.

Australian Business Baulks at Energy Targets (Bloomberg)
Australian businesses want national and state governments to dump mandatory targets for renewable energy, saying it will cost AUS$60 billion ($52.5 billion) and undermine exports, the Australian Financial Review reported.

Return of the Native Oak Helps Birds to Survive Climate Change (London Times)
Garden birds are being protected from the effects of climate change by an alien tree, researchers have found. Turkey oaks were native to Britain until they were driven out by an ice age 120,000 years ago.

Environmental Group Questions Extent of California’s Climate Change Program (Grist)
EarthJustice is challenging the legality of the draft release of California's climate change program, A.B. 32, which it says uses the 2020 greenhouse gas emissions limit as the ceiling instead of a reduction minimum.

In Rural New York, Windmills Can Bring Whiff of Corruption (New York Times)
The wind industry has arrived in force in upstate New York, promising jobs, tax revenue and cutting-edge energy. But some residents say the companies have brought with them an epidemic of corruption and intimidation.

Jellyfish Invasion: Britain to Fight Them on the Beaches (Independent)
The growing threat from swarms of jellyfish around Britain's coast is to be investigated for the first time by British and Irish scientists. Using the latest technology, researchers are planning to tag jellyfish to explore their life cycles and movement in a project known as Ecojel.

House to Rethink Drilling, Pelosi Says (New York Times)

Dropping her opposition to a vote on coastal oil exploration, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that the House would consider expanded offshore drilling as part of broad energy legislation when Congress returns next month.

France Reaffirms Its Faith in Future of Nuclear Power (New York Times)

France is building its newest nuclear reactor, the first in 10 years, costing $5.1 billion. But already, Pres. Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that France will build another just like it.

Danish Wind Turbine Maker Adding 1,350 Colorado Jobs (The Denver Post)

Colorado officials have announced a major expansion for Vestas Wind Systems in what will become the state's largest renewable-energy venture. The Danish firm will build a $290 million wind-turbine plant that will employ 1,350 workers.

Oregon Seeks Lower Emissions from PGE Coal Plant (AP)

Oregon regulators have announced plans to cut pollutants from Portland General Electric Co.'s Boardman coal plant by 65 percent by 2014, which will require $400 million worth of added controls.

Swiss Companies to Build World's Highest Solar Power Station (AFP)

Swiss companies are planning to build the world's highest solar power station in the country's southern Alpine region, one of the project developers, electricity group BKW FMB, has announced.

EU Carbon Credits 'Undervalued' (ClimateBiz)

The price of carbon credits trading in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme dropped by as much as 25% during the last month, but EU research company IDEAcarbon predicts the credits are undervalued and will likely rally in the mid-term to an average of $43 per ton.

Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California (New York Times)
Two California companies said Thursday that they would each build solar power plants that were 10 times bigger than the largest now in service, creating the first true utility-scale use of a technology now mostly confined to rooftop.

UK: Climate Change Causes Birds to Lay Eggs Early (Guardian)
Climate change is making British birds lay their eggs earlier in the year, according to a major survey of how common species are changing their behaviour to cope with warmer temperatures.

Ocean 'Dead Zones' Doubling (Washington Post)
In the latest sign of trouble in the planet's chemistry, the number of oxygen-starved "dead zones" in coastal waters around the world has roughly doubled every decade since the 1960s, killing fish, crustaceans and massive amounts of marine life.

US Wind Poised to Hit 150GW by 2020 (Earth2Tech)
The booming U.S. wind market is set to cross the 150GW mark by 2020, according to a report from market research firm Emerging Energy Research (EER). But it will take actually double that 2020 projection — a total of 300 GGW— if we want to get 20 precent of our electricity from wind like the DOE and T. Boone Pickens think we can.

Lab Says Solar Cell Sets Record for Efficiency (Associated Press)
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory says its scientists have developed a device that can convert a record 40.8 percent of the light that hits it into electricity.

Antarctic Climate: Short-Term Spikes, Long-Term Warming Linked to Tropical Pacific (Innovations Report)
Dramatic year-to-year temperature swings and a century-long warming trend across West Antarctica are linked to conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, according to a new analysis of ice cores.

Slower Economy Saps Climate Action; Oil a Prop (Reuters)
An economic slowdown is sapping enthusiasm for a costly drive to fight climate change but persistently high oil prices are a lifeline for a "green revolution" of renewable energy technology, experts say.

Climate Change Is Already Affecting the West's Water (AlterNet)
By 2020 Glacier National Park will be "Puddles National Park" and the rest of the west won't be much better off. So where's the concern?

Global Oxygen Level Falling, Warn Scientists (China Daily)
Compared to prehistoric times, the level of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere has fallen by over a third and in polluted cities the decline could be more than 50 percent.

Gemonics: The Key to Better Biofuels (Science Daily)
“Genetics and genomics can catalyze progress towards delivering, in the not-too-distant future, economically-viable and more socially acceptable biofuels based on lignocellulose,” said Eddy Rubin of the D.O.E.

PG&E Power Purchase Agreements for 800MW with OptiSolar and Sunpower (PV Tech)
Optisolar Image with SunPacific Gas and Electric Company today announced it has entered into two utility-scale, photovoltaic (PV) solar power contracts for a total of 800 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy that will deliver 1.65 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually.

Nanoscale Catalysts Could Tap Syngas As Cheap Source Of Ethanol (Medical News Today)
Say the word "biofuels: and most people think of grain ethanol and biodiesel. But there's another, older technology called gasification that's getting a new look from researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University.

Prince Attacked Over GM Crops Stance (London Financial Times)
Prince Charles was branded a Luddite on Wednesday as his claims that a global shift towards planting more genetically modified crops would destroy the earth’s environment met a withering response.

Scorching Summer Days to Sizzle More by 2100 (Reuters)
Dangerously hot days are set to become more scorching by 2100 because of climate change with the U.S. Midwest and the Mediterranean region sizzling well above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, Dutch scientists said on Wednesday.

Climate Change Threatens One in Five Plant Species (PhysOrg)
Climate change alters growing conditions in many regions of the world. How global warming could affect Germany`s flora researchers have now simulated using computer models.

Turning Waste Material Into Ethanol (Science Daily)
Researchers have developed a method for converting crop residue, wood pulp, animal waste and garbage into ethanol. The process first turns the waste material into synthesis gas, or syngas, and nanoscale catalysts then convert the syngas into ethanol.

Making a Solar Cell Component without Using Fossil Fuels (Scientific American)
Solar energy is touted by some as the solution to the world's energy woes. But the process of making the various components requires fossil fuels, both for power and for the components themselves, some of which are based on petroleum.

The Great Energy Confusion (Washington Post)
Forget about a candid national conversation on energy. As John McCain and Barack Obama campaigned last week, that much seemed clear. Obama proposed releasing 10 percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and, earlier, McCain suggested suspending the 18.4-cents-a-gallon federal gasoline tax; that was another bad and expedient idea.

Carbon Sequestration Frustration (Science News)
Burying carbon dioxide from coal-fired plants could increase other pollutants, a new study suggests. Power plant emissions that cause acid rain, water pollution and destruction of the ozone layer may actually be made worse by capturing the CO2 and pumping it deep underground.