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There’ll Always Be an England … in Brazil

Vast new rainforest reserve unveiled in Brazilian Amazon The Brazilian Amazon will soon be home to the world’s largest tropical-rainforest reserve, in news that’s making conservationists beam — and making us feel better about all those pints of Ben & Jerry’s Rainforest Crunch we ate to help the cause. The vast tract — which, at […]

The drum beat is bringing the public around

When discussing the recent Supreme Court case, those opposed to action on climate change often use the argument that the court should rule against Mass. et al. because these kinds of legal challenges are end runs around the legislative process. Rather, they argue, it is the president and Congress that should be taking up this issue.

Duh.

How the world got addicted to oil, and where biofuels will take us

They may be hyped as the way of the future, but biofuels already count as a juggernaut. Supported by the government and embraced by the Big Three automakers, ethanol is surging in the United States. Biodiesel, meanwhile, is roaring ahead in Europe as the continent strives to meet its carbon-emission obligations under the Kyoto treaty. […]

Carbon trading it too easily gamed

"Mommy, where do carbon offsets come from?"

"Well, you see sweetheart, when a major polluter and a consultant love money very, very much, they express that love in a special way. Nine months later, the consultant produces an extremely large paper packet."

In theory, carbon taxes and carbon trading yield similar results.(Carbon taxes raise the price of fossil fuels by taxing it. Permits raise the price of fossil fuels by requiring people to buy permits for each unit burned) So why do so many people who support carbon taxes oppose carbon trading? Because in practice they differ catastrophically, something we have good reasons to expect.

The real world record of carbon trading includes:

A Grist special series on biofuels

What is ethanol, and how's it different from biodiesel, and where does fry grease come in? Are there cars that can run on biofuels, and who's making them, and where can they fuel up? Who sells it, who makes money off it, and why's it such a political darl

Ski slopes under threat from global warming, and more

To listen to the most recent podcast, go here. Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: There’ll Always Be an England … in Brazil Letting the Cataclysm Out of the Bag More Poles to Worry About Piscean Match Kick It into Underdrive Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: […]

A real live Canadian weighs in

If Capo di tutti Capi Roberts demands answers, who am I to refuse the call?

Below the fold, my thoughts on the choice of Stephane Dion for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. The short version: modest optimism.

He’s green as green can be

Apparently there was a Liberal Party convention in Canada this weekend, with all the twists, turns, and drama you've come to not expect at all from Canada. The end result was a "stunning upset": underdog and "straight shooter" Stephane Dion, an academic-turned-politician who most recently served as Canada's Minister of the Environment, was elected new head of the Liberal Party and, in all likelihood, the next Prime Minister of Canada.

Dion has made environmental issues the center of his public life and his campaign. He's a big backer of Kyoto (he even named his dog after it!). See here and here for two remarkable speeches on how to make a greener Canada.

Perhaps John, our resident Canadian, can step in and offer us some informed background. Oil Drum Canada has some reflections.

Here an extended excerpt from Dion's acceptance speech:

‘Govern’, that is

Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said the bill would send a positive signal to voters as Republicans transition into the minority.

"It would be good if we could get a few things done on the way out the door and show people that ... we really can govern," Kingston said.

What is this bill, you ask, that can overturn four years of evidence and convince voters that the Republican Congress can govern?

Why, a bill to open up off-shore drilling, of course.

And you thought they put fealty to corporate contributors over good governance!

(via TP)

It’s a disaster, not a catastrophe

A Guardian story suggests that we may have as much as eight degrees of global warming already locked in, in the form of stored heat in the ocean. But a substantial stored-heat backlog in the ocean has been well-known for some time. That it is greater than expected is bad news -- but (as I've confirmed in correspondence with Gavin Schmidt of Real Climate) this does not mean that all or most of that stored heat is going to "come back" and fry the planet, provided we take action in time.

I know James Lovelock, the brilliant inventor of the Gaia hypothesis, is spreading the "8 degree" misinterpretation, but most climate scientists do not agree with him.

Climate disruption is a serious crisis for the human race, but the reality is bad enough. No need to make solving it harder by exaggerating the threat. RealClimate has posted a number of articles debunking exaggerated panic-mongering: