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Snippets from the news

• U.S. Senate votes 74-14 to debate the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act — or at least debate whether to debate it. • NASA “marginalized, or mischaracterized” studies on global warming. • New York City experiences bike shortages. • Quebec and Ontario team up to tackle global warming. • Poachers take a toll on rhinos in […]

World’s third-largest tropical rainforest disappearing quickly

Papua New Guinea is home to the world’s third-largest tropical rainforest, but the country is experiencing such rampant deforestation that more than half of its tree cover could be lost by 2021, says a new study. “Forests in Papua New Guinea are being logged repeatedly and wastefully with little regard for the environmental consequences and […]

How not to inform readers about cap-and-trade

Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson has long impressed me as one of the most hackish economic columnists not associated with the Wall Street Journal and not named Ben Stein, but today’s piece on cap-and-trade is dismally, embarrassingly stupid. Its essential premise is that consumers and producers of energy don’t respond to price signals, something so […]

Senate decides to advance to debate on climate legislation

The Senate just held a cloture vote on whether to proceed with debate on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. It needed 60 votes to proceed. And the Senate says … Agreed to move forward, 74-14! Climate change will now be open for debate on the Senate floor. UPDATE: Now they’re debating about when to start […]

Airlines, cargo ships increasingly desperate due to rising fuel costs

Globalization was built on cheap oil. As that era draws to a close, so will the current phase of global integration, whether Thomas Friedman, Wal-Mart, and all those involved in intercontinental trade like it or not.

The current transportation infrastructure is based on cars, trucks, airplanes, and cargo ships, which together consume about 70 percent of the gasoline used in the United States. While the greatest focus has been on cars, trucking and airline companies are facing collapse.

The International Air Transport Association just published a new report in which they call the situation of many airlines "desperate." According to The N.Y. Times:

If price of oil, which is now just below $130 a barrel, averages $107 over 2008, the aviation industry would lose $2.3 billion for the year, the chief executive of the group, Giovanni Bisignani, said. Should it hold at $135 a barrel for the rest of the year, the industry will lose $6.1 billion.

NASA inspector general: NASA suppressed climate science

Remember when James Hansen made a big fuss, saying NASA has been distorting, downplaying, and outright censoring climate science? And conservatives launched a wave of personal attacks against him? Well according to NASA’s inspector general, Hansen was right.

Yet another international climate meeting gets rollin’

Yet another round of international climate talks has kicked off, this time in Bonn, Germany. More than 2,000 delegates from 162 countries will chit-chat over the next two weeks about the details of an agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. But no significant steps forward are expected out of Bonn; most major decisions on the […]

The real reason conservatives don’t believe in climate science

Part I discussed the odd anti-science part of Krauthammer's screed, "Carbon Chastity: The First Commandment of the Church of the Environment." I ended by asking, Why does he break faith with so many conservatives and worship at the altar of evolution science, but stick with them on climate denial? My book discusses this general question at length, and offers the answer:

Conservative senator offers two progressive amendments to climate bill

One of the more ambitious and progressive proposals in the climate debate is Peter Barnes’ “cap-and-dividend,” which would take the revenue from carbon permit auctions and distribute it evenly to every U.S. citizen on a monthly basis. Another common progressive/enviro position on climate legislation is that it should minimize the use of offsets, particularly international […]

Ten industry arguments against action on global warming … and why they are wrong

For the debate on Boxer-Lieberman-Warner, Daniel J. Weiss, Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress, has written a debunking of standard attack lines on climate action. Here are the myths he takes on: