U.S., China agree to limit potent greenhouse gas emissions

[But see: China greenhouse gas cuts: Who is fooling who when it comes to combating climate change?] RANCHO MIRAGE, 8 June 2013 (AFP) – The United States and China agreed to mount a joint effort to combat climate change Saturday, committing to work to cut hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), or “super greenhouse” gases. In a statement issued […]

China ‘will not accept’ EU measures on emissions

By Wang Wen and Zheng Xin 18 May 2013 (China Daily) – A senior official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Friday that the country disapproved and “will not accept any unilateral and compulsory market measures”, after the European Union threatened Chinese carriers with fines for non-compliance with its Emissions Trading System, […]

Climate change: human disaster looms, claims new research – Forecast global temperature rise of 4C a calamity for large swaths of planet even if predicted extremes are not reached

By Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent 19 May 2013 (The Guardian) – Some of the most extreme predictions of global warming are unlikely to materialise, new scientific research has suggested, but the world is still likely to be in for a temperature rise of double that regarded as safe. The researchers said warming was most likely […]

EPA delays climate rule for new power plants

By Juliet Eilperin 12 April 2013 (Washington Post) – You might have been wondering whether the Obama administration was going to impose the first-ever greenhouse gas limits on new power plants, since the deadline is April 13. We reported nearly a month ago that the Environmental Protection Agency was likely to delay the rule to […]

Amazon faces renewed risk from cattle – ‘Trade is emerging as a key driver of deforestation in Brazil’

5 April 2013 (Reuters) – Rising foreign demand for beef and soybeans will tempt Brazil to clear more of the Amazon rainforest, in a reversal of recent success in slowing forest losses, a study said on Thursday. About 30 per cent of deforestation in Brazil in the decade to 2010 was due to farmers and […]

James Hansen retires from NASA to fight global warming – ‘As a government employee, you can’t testify against the government’

By JUSTIN GILLIS1 April 2013 (The New York Times) – James E. Hansen, the climate scientist who issued the clearest warning of the 20th century about the dangers of global warming, will retire from NASA this week, giving himself more freedom to pursue political and legal efforts to limit greenhouse gases. His departure, after a […]

Climate-driven disasters cost Victorians $4 billion over the last decade

By Tom Arup, Environment editor, The Age20 March 2013 (The Age) – Climate-driven disasters such as bushfires and floods have cost Victorian taxpayers more than $4 billion over the last decade, it has emerged, as the Napthine Government released its plan for Victoria to prepare for the future impacts of climate change [pdf]. The plan […]

Climate change dates back to dawn of first farmers – ‘Early farmers used a lot more land, and they cleared a lot more forest per farmer’

By Dan Vergano3 March 2013 (USA TODAY) – Deforestation by early farmers likely kicked off an era of man-made climate change long before our present era, suggests a climate scientist taking a hard look at agriculture’s early effects. Chopping down trees with flint axes, planting peas and shearing sheep — those all sound like the […]

Blocking Keystone XL pipeline won’t save the climate, State Department analysis says

[UPDATE: Keystone XL pipeline: US government report drew on analysis by oil consultants] By Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson1 March 2013 (Washington Post) – The State Department released a draft environmental impact assessment of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline Friday afternoon, suggesting that blocking the project would not have a significant impact on either the […]

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli gets a science lesson

By Emily Heffling, Virginia Campus Organizer22 February 2013 If Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was featured on the TV show, Are you smarter than a 5th grader?, he would have been out before the first commercial. In his new book, The Last Line of Defense, Cuccinelli has a chapter called “Weird Science” dedicated to his […]

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