Latest Articles

Climate change justice is contentious

As this round of the IPCC unfolds, developing countries are scurrying to relieve themselves of any major responsibility for historic emissions and, consequently, aggressive mitigation policies.

For example, China has requested inserting language that formally recognizes the percentage of emissions for which developed countries are responsible -- 95 percent from the pre-industrial era until 1950, and 77 percent from 1950 to the start of the millennium.

Planktos may be a bad idea, but innovation is good

The green blogosphere generally reacted with chuckles or consternation to Planktos' announced plans to dump tons of iron into the ocean to, you know, see what happens. Gar Lipow took the article as another excuse to bash carbon offsets.

To follow the logic, you first have to know why anyone would want to dump several tons of iron into the sea. Planktos hopes to demonstrate that seeding the oceans with certain nutrients is a credible way to stimulate plankton blooms. It further hopes to demonstrate that these blooms are a credible way to sequester atmospheric carbon. Carbon markets provide the incentive for this quixotic undertaking. If the experiment is successful -- a big if -- Planktos could one day tap into the many billions of dollars available for carbon reduction projects.

From Knut to Kowabunga

Knut overload Much ado has been made about Al Gordo. But who’s the latest green celeb to pork up? Knut, the polar bear chub. Who would have thought the cuddly li’l guy would grow up? It’s like he’s a wild animal or something. Photo: iStockphoto Compost and get it When we first fell for worm-poop […]

And why wouldn’t they?

RealClimate, a blog run by leading climate scientists, thinks Planktos's scheme to dump iron particles in the ocean to make plankton bloom and sequester carbon is "thin soup."

I have some extended quotes from David Archer on the subject below the fold. But if you are interested, read the whole thing.

In spite of public relations claims by Planktos representatives in comments, it appears that most of the scientific community does not think highly of the Planktos claims.

More current science paints an even grimmer picture

Already, there are serious reservations about the final IPCC summary for policymakers, which was released today.

The BBC leads the charge, noting that the economic models used to recommend mitigation policies aim to hold the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration at 550 parts per million (ppm). However, more recent scientific evidence suggests, and I agree, that our policies need to keep concentrations much closer to 450 ppm.

Scan much?

The final IPCC WGIII report is out, but the PDF seems like a horrible scan or something — it’s almost unreadable. Anybody got a clean copy they want to send me?

Clash With the Titan

Anti-dam activists target billionaire Warren Buffett This weekend, activists are descending on Omaha, Neb., to push for removal of four Western dams they say are killing salmon and causing a health risk to humans. Their target: skillionaire Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway holding company owns PacifiCorp, the utility that owns the Klamath River dams. In […]

You Know the Drill

Bush administration wants to drill here, there, and everywhere This week, the Interior Department announced a five-year plan that would open 48 million acres of ocean to oil and gas leases off the shores of Alaska and Virginia and in the Gulf of Mexico. Alaska’s Bristol Bay is ready to be defiled, as President Bush […]

Where There’s a Way, There’s a Will

Third IPCC report says world can afford climate solutions The third installment of the IPCC climate assessment is out, and the news is bad-good: it’s going to take a lot of work to combat climate change, but it won’t cost as much as many leaders have been claiming. The 120-nation Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change […]

You know you love it

This AP story is a bit old but it’s incredibly significant so I’m going to go ahead and get in a tizzy about it. It’s about efforts by the city of Stamford, Conn. (among other places) to establish a micro grid district. What’s that, you ask? Within these special zones, sometimes referred to as “energy […]