New California Wind Farm Blows Previous Efforts Away Between San Francisco and Sacramento lies the nearly completed High Winds Energy Center, a state-of-the-art wind farm expected to generate roughly 162 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power 75,000 homes -- and make wind power competitive with extractive energy sources. The turbines at High Winds represent a substantial improvement in technology: they are more efficient than previous models, creating almost 20 times as much energy as turbines from 20 years ago; they turn to face the wind; their blades revolve more slowly and kill far fewer birds; and they are more …

The recent Milan conference on the Kyoto Protocol started out with a bang -- a commotion of rumors about Russia's ratification of the treaty -- and went out with a whimper, offering no clear signal that the landmark accord on climate change would ever become international law. But one important development became clear amidst the flimflam: Kyoto-supporting countries, including Japan, Canada, and those of the European Union, are not going to stand around and wait for the rogue elephants Russia and the United States to join the pack. Instead of idling while the treaty negotiations make slow progress, these countries …

Dear Umbra, I have a question that's been nagging at me for some time. Since I have a water heater inside my house, any waste heat from the water heater contributes to heating the house. Does it still make sense in terms of energy savings to put an insulating blanket on the water heater? KurtLittleton, Colo. Dearest Kurt, Getting tanked.Photo: PNNL. After space heat -- that is, heating your entire home -- water heaters are the largest household energy consumers. Part of the reason the bill and the environmental burden are so high is that a tank water heater keeps …

Dear Umbra, My housemates and I are engaged in an ongoing argument about the heat (gas) in our somewhat old house. I argue that for the minimum eight hours that we are out of the house during the day, we should turn our heat down to at least 62 degrees. They argue that we should leave it at 68 at all times, because it takes more energy to heat up the house later when we all arrive home. Not surprisingly, we can't agree about a sleeping temperature at night, either. Can you settle this "heated" debate? Will B. ColdWashington, D.C. …

Dear Umbra, Can you shed some light (or some warmth) on the most environmentally sound ways to heat one's home this winter? Natural gas over coal and oil for its lower carbon (and particulate) content? What about fireplaces: good or bad? Would burning gas logs be a good alternative to burning real wood? Thanks for your help! JanetWashington, D.C. Dearest Janet, What we cold eco-folks are looking for is a heat source that is clean to produce, clean to burn, energy-efficient, affordable, and renewable. Look back at your choices with that in mind, and you'll see that natural gas, although …

Climate Change Alters Salt Levels in Atlantic Ocean, to Europe's Dismay The Atlantic Ocean seems so vast that it's almost impossible to imagine fundamentally altering it -- and yet, its salt levels have changed so drastically over the last 40 years because of global warming that the whole flow of ocean water is being disrupted, according to a study published today in the journal Nature. As the planet warms, more ocean water evaporates than normal, causing the concentration of salt to increase in certain areas -- and, because the overall salinity of the ocean must remain the same, to decrease …

Pristine Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Opened to Oil Drilling Try as it might, the Bush administration hasn't been able to get its hands on oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps to make itself feel better, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is forging ahead with plans to permit aggressive oil drilling in large swaths of the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPR-A), the refuge's lesser-known neighbor. The NPR-A, which was set aside as an oil storehouse for the U.S. military, provides habitat for caribou, migratory birds, and other wildlife. Along with its drilling plans, the BLM is relaxing …

Climate Change Tied to 150,000 Deaths a Year, WHO Says How's this for classic gloom and doom: Climate change led to 150,000 premature deaths in 2000, and the annual number of such deaths could double in 30 years if current warming trends are not reversed, according to a new report by the World Health Organization. Global warming hits hardest in developing countries and tropical areas, where rising temperatures often lead to drought, malnutrition, and an ever-widening range for disease-bearing mosquitoes. Nor are wealthy nations immune: Some 20,000 Europeans died this past summer as a result of a sweltering heat wave …

Report Recommends That World Bank Stop Backing Oil, Coal Projects The World Bank should phase out all investments in oil and coal projects by 2008 because the environmental risks are too high, an independent report has recommended. Now, the bank must figure out how to respond to the Extractive Industry Review, which it commissioned in 2001 following criticism about the bank's backing of natural-resource extraction projects. The study, whose recommendations are not binding, advises the bank to "devote its limited scarce resources to investments in renewable energy resource development, emissions-reducing projects, clean energy technology, energy efficiency and conservation, and other …

Inuit Plan to Launch Human-Rights Case Against U.S. Over Climate Change Saying global climate change threatens them with extinction, the world's Inuit people yesterday announced plans to launch a human-rights case against the United States, which has repeatedly reiterated that it will take no decisive action on the issue. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference represents 155,000 people living inside the Arctic Circle, where a rapidly warming climate is changing the ecosystem and threatening to permanently destroy the Inuit way of life. At talks on the Kyoto Protocol underway this week in Milan, Italy, Inuit representatives said they would invite the Inter-American …