Climate Climate & Energy
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Climate change making for salty seas, says study
Climate change is making the Atlantic Ocean more salty, according to research being published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Increased evaporation and reduced rainfall are to blame. Keep an eye out for even saltier sea dogs, me hearties. Yar!
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Sometimes the issue with a particular technology is the technology itself
In arguing for efficiency mandates, Joe Romm notes the failings of carbon pricing as a solution to climate change: That means a price of $400 a metric ton of carbon (whether achieved through a tax or a cap & trade system) would increase the price of gasoline a mere $1 a gallon. How much efficiency […]
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Arctic ice thinning even in winter, study finds
A new study found that Arctic sea ice has been thinning steadily in winter since about 2001, with last winter’s ice shrinking by nearly 20 percent. The new data could speed up forecasts for when Arctic sea ice will be completely gone.
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Virginian coal protesters receive B-minus plea bargain for Kingsworth-like activism
“You’re Hannah, right?” Hannah Morgan, a 20-year old from Appalachia, Virginia, was one of 11 protesters in handcuffs early Monday morning on Sept. 15 at the construction site for a coal-fired power plant being built in Wise County Virginia by Dominion Power. The handcuffs were applied by the police, but the questioner, it turns out, […]
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Majorities oppose mountaintop removal mining
The first nationwide poll ever taken on the subject finds that most Americans oppose the practice of mountaintop-removal mining, specifically the Bush administration’s recent bid to repeal the stream buffer zone rule. Of course, much like polls about climate, a high percentage of people willing to say it concerns them does not indicate a high […]
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A food/climate manifesto presents new visions for responding to climate change
Turin, Italy — I’ve just come out of the most hopeful and interesting discussions of climate change I’ve ever witnessed. Anchored by Indian food-sovereignty activist Vandana Shiva, the panel discussion at Terra Madre unveiled a new “Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security,” drawn up by the International Commission on the Future […]
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The imminent nuclear revival
Still imminent! And kudos to Joe for getting a voice of sanity out into the MSM: The critics argue that the same money spent elsewhere — on wind power, or on retrofitting buildings — could create bigger cuts in carbon dioxide output. Joseph J. Romm, an official in the Energy Department during the Clinton administration, […]
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CAP releases interactive U.S. map of per-capita emissions
The Center for American Progress has an interactive map up, showing per-capita CO2 emissions from U.S. states. No big shock — the big emitters are the big coal users, and the low emitters are the big hydro users. The point CAP is pushing is this: “The 10 cleanest states based on per capita emissions … […]
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Massive coal utility agrees to disclose carbon risk
Here’s another one to file under Bigger Deal Than It Seems. A little over a year ago, I wrote about N.Y. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s effort to pressure energy companies into fully disclosing their carbon risk. He sent them subpoenas which said, among other things: Any one of the several new or likely regulatory initiatives […]
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NBC news ignores climate change, blows the bark beetle story
The oldest Utah newspaper understands “climate change is now being blamed for an increased population of bark beetles.” The journal Nature published an article just this April, “Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change.” The Canadian media knows, “Climate-Driven Pest Devours Canada’s Forests.” Yet NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams manages to […]