Posted on May 29, 2008 by Dennis Pfaff
- The nation's first comprehensive ocean planning law, which among other things will regulate the placement of renewable energy projects such as wind farms, has been signed by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, reports the Boston Globe.
- Representatives of the five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean have adopted a declaration intended to reduce tensions over the likelihood that global warming will open northern waters to shipping, energy extraction and other activities, reports The New York Times.
- Honolulu, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, were among the cities with the lowest carbon footprint in the United States, according to a new report cited by the San Francisco Chronicle (whose city came in in eighth place on the list).
- Latin American and European officials discuss shared efforts to combat climate change, reports Latinamerica Press.
- Global demand for natural gas may be upsetting previous predictions that plenty would be available to supply the United States market, according to this look at the situation appearing in The New York Times.
- Unprecedented changes in the Arctic due to global warming are creating unprecedented challenges to the survival of marine mammals, conclude scientists in a report cited by Environmental Science and Technology.
- Exxon Mobil has turned back a revolt by descendants of company founder John D. Rockefeller Sr., defeating shareholder resolutions that included a demand the company draw up a plan to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions and turn its attention to cleaner energy, says the Washington Post.
- Dealing with the needs of old people might be as big a challenge for society as climate change, warns Britain's health minister, according to the Telegraph of the United Kingdom.
Posted on May 28, 2008 by Dennis Pfaff
- Global warming poses a serious threat to the Great Lakes and Congress needs to pay for restoring the huge bodies of fresh water now, says a new report cited by the Detroit Free Press.
- The "circus" that is the Exxon Mobil shareholders meeting includes consideration of shareholder proposals, including one that would set limits on greenhouse gases, as reported by the Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital.
- A coalition of environmental groups urges officials to take action to reverse the potential impacts of global warming and sea level rise on Florida, reports the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
- Global warming has already occurred -- 635 million years ago, according to a scientific study of an abrupt release of methane from ice sheets that existed at the time, says an article in Science Daily.
- Top officials of Canada's western provinces head into several days of meetings divided over the appropriate approach to climate change, debating such topics as cap-and-trade versus carbon capture and storage, reports the Calgary Herald.
- China is getting serious about climate change, with experts there understanding that global warming will affect their country much more severely than North America, argue two University of California-San Diego professors in a commentary published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Researchers contend that a recently announced goal of the large industrial nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 might not go far enough, says the United Kingdom's Telegraph.
Posted on May 27, 2008 by Dennis Pfaff
- The updated version of the Lieberman-Warner bill to curtail United States greenhouse gas emissions is scheduled to hit the floor of the Senate on June 2, although it is unlikely to become law this year, according to this look at the legislation from Reuters.
- Environment ministers from the world's leading industrial countries, the G8, have called for an agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, but only indirectly mentioned a U.N. scientific finding that rich countries should make shorter-term cuts, reports the Scotsman of Edinburgh.
- States surrounding the Great Lakes are building a legal wall around the vast freshwater bodies, a movement that there and elsewhere has taken on new urgency in light of droughts, evidence of climate change and other factors, according to the Chicago Tribune.
- More on the big shareholder fight over the direction of Exxon Mobil, much of it having to do with the company's policies regarding global warming, and involving members of the Rockefeller family, as reported by The New York Times.
- An environmental group urges Texas regulators to support a wind power development plan that would provide nearly 25,000 megawatts of electricity, according to the statement from the organization, the Environmental Defense Fund.
- A conservative group that's skeptical of global warming warnings is sponsoring "Carbon Belch Day" to encourage people to waste as much energy as possible, says this report from Information Week.
Posted on April 28, 2008 by Dennis Pfaff
- Descendants of John D. Rockefeller will call for a shakeup at the top of ExxonMobil, the successor to the Standard Oil giant Rockefeller founded, amid concerns the company has been slow to acknowledge climate change, The Times of London reported.
- Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle wants an agreement between his state and the United Kingdom to work together on climate change issues, according to a story in The Capital Times.
- Forest Day in Africa was marked by discussions of how to reduce the impact of climate change, says a story in The Post, an English-language paper in Cameroon.
- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to dump high-profile members of a California commission overseeing state parks may have been related to efforts to build a transmission line serving a Southern California solar project, the San Francisco Chronicle reported over the weekend.
- Entrepeneurs are turning to such ventures as financing solar technologies, according to C/Net's Green Tech Blog.
- A Canadian panel sees climate-related threats to the polar bear, writes the Globe and Mail, but that doesn't go far enough to satisfy an American environmental group pushing for stronger action to protect the animal (see Center for Biological Diversity press statement here).
- Lawmakers in Washington are working toward a new deal on a farm bill that could cut ethanol tax subsidies, reports Radio Iowa. On the other hand, the measure would also boosts support for such renewables as cellulosic biofuels, according to the Delta Farm Press. However, by no means are all critics mollified, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal wrote over the weekend.
- The presence of electromagnetic fields generated by hybrid vehicles has led some to question whether they are safe for drivers, the New York Times wrote this weekend.
