U.K. market leads the pack in lucrative carbon-emissions trading Newfangled carbon trading has become quite lucrative in the Old World, where the European Union's fledgling carbon market has taken off. Many doubted that the emissions-trading scheme (part of E.U. plans to meet Kyoto emissions-reduction targets) would prosper, especially since the U.S. -- world leader in market-driven economics -- didn't come to the party. But au contraire: The average daily volume of emissions trading increased threefold between January and June, to 1.1 million tons, and the value of a carbon credit more than tripled. London traders have embraced the new scheme, …

Another climate-skeptic argument bites the dust Another argument treasured by climate-change skeptics may be headed the way of the dinosaurs. For years, doubters have made much of the fact that the troposphere (the lower part of the earth's atmosphere) didn't seem to be warming as fast as the earth's surface, as climate models had predicted it would. But three new studies in the journal Science -- on weather-satellite data, weather-balloon data, and climate models -- together call into question the calculations by which past temperature measurements of the troposphere were produced, and show that accurate calculations reveal a warming trend. …

Siberia's fast thaw alarms scientists Siberia is melting. Meeelllting! Ahem. Of particular concern is a 386,000 square-mile expanse of western Siberian permafrost that's been icy cold for about 11,000 years and sits atop billions of tons of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. If the permafrost melts, the methane could escape, global climate change could pass a tipping point after which it is effectively unstoppable, and we, friends and neighbors, could be toast. Speaking of that, in today's New Scientist a research team reports seeing mud and lakes in the region, some more than half …

As the world gets hotter, migratory animals move north Reports are piling up of odd animal sightings in northern regions: salmon swimming through the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia; birds like the Cape May warbler moving from U.S. spruce forests to cooler Canadian climes; a fish usually found off the coasts of Africa or southern Europe swimming in a Norwegian fjord; Texas political hatchet men passing pork-filled legislation in Washington, D.C. Scientists are increasingly worried about the impacts such species shifts may have on delicately balanced ecosystems. Those wandering warblers eat a lot of spruce budworm caterpillars, for example, …

Four years, two failed conference attempts, and one filibuster after the Republican leadership first introduced the Bush-backed energy bill into Congress, the controversial legislation is being signed into law today by the president, yielding a major victory for the White House -- and exposing Democrats' continued inability to rally around a unified vision and stay on message. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid voted against the energy bill, but failed to sway many of his Democratic colleagues. When House and Senate negotiators met to hammer out a compromise version of the bill in conference committee last month, it was predictably stripped …

Exxon Valdez: No, your other left! Photo: NOAA. Lee, we barely knew ye. Oh, wait, yes we did. "You either retire or die and I'd just as soon not die," you said recently, and then yesterday announced your imminent exit as chair and CEO of ExxonMobil after more than 40 years with the oil behemoth. We'd just as soon not die either, Mr. Raymond, but anticipate we all will, so on the occasion of your retirement we offer this modest encomium to your many accomplishments. What impresses above all is your consistency. You joined Exxon in 1963, and no matter …

On several occasions I have written about television shows and movies. In doing so, I've tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to start a discussion about the impact they have on audiences when they address environmental issues and/or feature eco-friendly products (hybrids, windmills, etc). Recently, I issued a call asking (and paraphrasing Bill McKibben): "Where are the movies? The TV shows? The comics? The bleeping video games?" I believe exposure to such content will help introduce enviro concepts to consumers of pop culture, create awareness (you mean windmills aren't only a Dutch thing?), educate (hey, I didn't realize you could fit two dead …

Climate change could lead to more disease outbreaks, researchers say It's official: Climate change is at fault for everything but bad breath -- and we give the bad breath thing about a month. The latest global malady that may be laid at the feet of greenhouse-gas-crazed weather is disease, specifically cholera, an infection that causes severe diarrhea, often resulting in dehydration, which leads to tens of thousands of deaths a year in the developing world. A new study in the journal Nature analyzes almost 40 years of records in Bangladesh and finds that outbreaks of cholera correspond tightly to periods …

Big demand for solar energy runs up against finite panel supply Global demand for photovoltaic panels is causing months-long delays and price hikes for would-be buyers in the U.S. American suppliers blame a weak dollar, shortages of raw materials, and swelling demand both at home and abroad. The worldwide solar-power market has grown about 40 percent annually in the last five years -- driven largely by Germany, where an incentive program allows businesses and individuals to sell excess solar-generated electricity back to utilities at a premium rate. Germany consumes 39 percent of the available solar-panel supply, followed by Japan at …

Staunch U.S. allies, enviro activists, and just about everyone else was caught flat-footed last week when the U.S., Australia, and four Asian countries unveiled a new pact intended to help curb greenhouse-gas emissions. In the days since, some details about the surprise alliance have trickled out, but its mission and intended impact remain murky. Known as the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, the six-nation agreement was developed via clandestine negotiations orchestrated by the Bush administration over recent months with China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Australia -- nations that together produce nearly 50 percent of the world's greenhouse-gas …