EPA Will Limit Greenhouse Gases from US Coal Plants, reports Suzanne Goldenberg at the UK Guardian. Noting that the US can no longer afford the health hazards coming from current coal-fired power plants, EPA head Gina McCarthy outlined rules requiring new plants to emit 40% fewer emissions than old ones. To do so, new plants must capture and sequester carbon emissions, a technology not yet developed commercially. "The days of unlimited carbon pollution are over," noted NRDC's Dan Lashof. IT'S ABOUT TIME....
Colorado: Floods Cover Fracking, Oil Projects, Creating Toxic Leaks reports Rebecca Leber at Climate Progress. Close to 2000 installations in this densely drilled area are shut down, adding an unknown amount of toxic pollution to the floodwaters, worsened partly due to climate change, which in turn is caused by the same fossil fuels these installations mine. And so the circle comes round...
Four Charts That Prove the Future of Clean Energy Is Arriving are in a new Dept of Energy (DOE) report, notes Stephen Lacey at GreenTechMedia. DOE study authors note, "We are living it, and it is gaining force." Them's fightin' words - aimed at fossil fuels, I hope!
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Burning All Fossil Fuels Would Make Most Of Planet 'Uninhabitable' says a new study co-authored by James Hansen, former chief US government climatologist, reports Joe Romm at Climate Progress. A doubling of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels will likely result in a 5 to 7 F temperature rise. Given that Earth is headed towards a tripling of CO2, action is needed to limit emissions, not simply adapt to climate change.
David vs. Goliath: Clean Energy Barn Arises in Path of Keystone Pipeline reports Jane Kleeb at Bold Nebraska.org. Sponsored by Bold Nebraska, Sierra Club, 350.org and other greenies, the solar, wind-powered barn went up over 2 days recently. FD: yeah, I contributed towards this - you gotta love a "David" in these times! This could ultimately force Obama to tear down a clean energy structure for a dirty energy pipeline - unless.... Stay tuned, folks!
Heading Towards Total Wipeout of Arctic Planetary Heat Shield - as the summer sea ice hits its sixth lowest extent on record, reports Suzanne Goldenberg at Mongabay. The disappearance of summer Arctic ice means the planet loses an important heat shield, since the white ice reflects back into space a large amount of light preventing it being trapped as heat in the atmosphere. Despite recent short term rises in Arctic air temperature, the total volume of Arctic ice is steadily decreasing!
☼☼☼ On the Bright Side ☼☼☼
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OO US Revives Aid Program For Clean Energy
OO African Grass Could Substantially Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Livestock Industry
OO US Companies Unplug From The Electric Grid, Jolting Utilities
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OO New York: Big Utilities Embrace Small-Scale Solar Power to Save Money
OO California: Ninth Circuit Court Upholds CA's 'Low Carbon Fuel Standard'
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OO MA: Boston Tops Ranking Of Energy-Efficient US Cities
OO Texas Turns Its Eye To Energy Efficiency
☼☼☼People Speaking Out☼☼☼
OO Virginia: Local Officials Call on Denying State to Act On Climate Change - it's here already, they say, so deal with it now.
OO Climate Change Victims Confront Congressional CC Deniers
OO Groups Urge Boycott As Energy Company Tries to Discourage Clean Energy
*****Ready to Invest Your Bucks in Solar? Check out Mosaic opportunities here!
OO Coal: 'The Bottom Has Just Dropped Out Of The Market'- happy days! The fed's latest coal auction attracts lowest bid in 15 years.
OO Coal's Future Darkens Around The World as economic forces, pollution concerns and competition from cleaner fuels slowly nudge nations worldwide away from coal. About time!
OO U.S. Solar Installations Just Had Their Second-Best Quarter Ever
Courtesy of the National Park Service
OO Utilities Add Solar, Even As Panel Growth Slows Elsewhere
OO California, China To Link Climate-Change Efforts
OO China Will Try To Reduce Pollution Through Public Shaming
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OO EU Commissioner: Clean Energy Policy Right Even If Climate Change Does Not Exist
OO Scotland: Remote Windfarms To Receive Guaranteed Price For Their Electricity
OO Tidal Energy Scheme Off Northern Scotland Gets Go-Ahead
Coming soon to Brazil: wind farms. Credit Mary Ellen Harte
OO Brazil Cools On Nuclear Power Plans, Favors Wind
OO Carbon-Free, Biologically-Grown Bricks Win Green Business Competition - bacteria make the bricks!
OO Growth And Low Carbon 'Can Co-Exist' - carbons cuts and economic growth may not be mutually exclusive, researchers say.
OO Who's Making Hybrid Cars Sexy? The Germans
OO Prius Isn't Just A Car, It's A Pop Culture Item
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The flag flies, May 21, 2013.
At Moore, OK, the day after a huge tornado demolished it.
Credit Major Jon Quinlan/defenseimagery.mil
***** US Climate Change News *****
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OO Colorado 1 in 1,000 Year floods: several dead, nearly 12,000 evacuated
http://www.denverpost.com/2013coloradofloods/ci_24100494/colorado-engineers-rechannel-river-toll-dead-and-missing
++ Officials: Extensive road damage
++ Nearly 18,000 Homes Damaged, Over 1500 Destroyed
Credit AP Colorado Heli Ops/Dennis Pierce
++ Flooded Oil Fields
++ 10 Oil Spills in Flood Zones
++ After the Flood, Sludge
OO Climate Change Helped Heatwave and Wildfires, Worsening Colorado Flooding
OO Colorado House Republicans Unanimously Support Flood Relief, Unanimously Opposed Sandy Aid
OO Harry Reid On Senate GOP Inaction: 'Climate Change Is Here. We Are Doing Nothing About It.'
Credit NASA
OO NASA: Projects Climate Change for Your Neighborhood - creating very high resolution maps from their modified computer climate models.
OO Ahead Of IPCC Climate Report, Skeptic Groups Launch Global Anti-Science Campaign - sounds like the Koch brothers are at it again...
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OO Most US Companies Ignoring SEC Rule to Disclose Climate Risks
OO New Jersey: Climate Change, Sandy Extend Legacy via Boardwalk Fire - climate change worsened Hurricane Sandy's storm surges and flooding, which ultimately corroded wiring, causing a large fire, after the boardwalk had been rebuilt.
The recent New Jersey Boardwalk fire. Credit: Nicole Giaimo via newsworks.org
OO New EPA Rules Could Force Coal To Change
OO Social Costs Of Electricity From Coal Make It Uneconomical researchers assert.
OO US Army Corps Had Concerns About Coal Trains And Wetlands documents reveal.
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OO Study Of Best Fracked Wells Finds Low Methane Emissions -- But Skips Super-Emitters
OO What Cows Can Tell Us About The Dangers Of Fracking - cows nearly died, had stillbirths, and genetic defects in young years after being exposed to fracking water. Wonder what it will do to us?
OO Lawsuits Against Exxon Mobil Mount Over Big Oil Pipeline Spills
OO Michigan: Pipeline Companies Grabbing Private Land, Homeowners Powerless - isn't there something unconstitutional about this -- like violating their right to the pursuit of happiness?
OO Central Arkansas Water Utility Files Intent to Sue Exxon Over Pipeline
☼☼☼Acting Like You Care: The XL Keystone pipeline will make possible far more climate change, but President Obama might okay it anyway. Credo, 350.org and others are asking people to stand up and be counted as nonviolent resisters or help in other ways. I did. If you ever wanted to do something big for your future, now's your chance - here. 
OO Not Just Hydropower: Energy Needs Water And Water Needs Energy, report finds.
OO US Cities Quench Growing Thirst With Saltwater - increasing water scarcity drives up costs, making desalinization attractive.
OO Amid Drought, A Water Fight Spills Into Legal Territory
Credit NOAA
OO US Summer Of 2013 Broke Records
OO California: Mckibben Warns About Climate Change At Conservation Conference
OO On Game Day, Dallas Cowboys Stadium Uses More Energy Than Liberia
Credit Myrabella via wikimedia commons
OO Oysters Dying As US Coast Is Hit Hard By Acid Seas
OO Virginia: Higher Sea Levels Mean More Flood Damage From Storms Like Isabel experts say.
OO Virginia: Climate Change Increasing Chances Of More Destructive Hurricanes
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OO Alaska: Walrus Move To Shore As They Run Out Of Ice rest area near their feeding grounds.
OO Alaska: Melting Ice, Warming Waters Could Erode Way Of Life For North Slope
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Via the University of East Anglia Climate Change webpage
<<<< Climate Change Round the World >>>>
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OO IPCC Report to Establish Global Carbon Budget for First Time
OO Climate Journalists Should Report Explicit Risks of Climate Change - as one would of an insurance policy to better inform readers, rather than dwell on disaster or uncertainty, a study indicates.
OO Climate Responsibility Is Shared By All Nations researchers say.
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OO Corporate Climate Pollution Grows
OO Russian Coast Guard Captures Arctic Greenpeace Protest Ship, 'Activists Rounded Up, Held At Gunpoint'
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OO 500,000 Flee As Typhoon Lashes Japan - the year's 18th typhoon shot through central and northeast Honshu recently.
OO Asia: Super Typhoon Usagi, 2013's Strongest Storm Headed Toward Hong Kong
Credit NOAA
OO Canada: Aging Infrastructure Being Taxed By Extreme Weather
OO Canada: Climate Change Changes Flood Coverage Maps For Insurers as more intense storms decrease the areas that can be covered by insurance.
OO Mexico: Over 100 Dead, 1000s Displaced, After Massive Double Storms, Mudslide
Recent flooding in Acapulco, Mexico. Credit Associated Press
OO China: Coal Energy Further Stresses Water Scarcity Problems
OO New Zealand: Marring 'Middle Earth'In Frantic Effort To Exploit Fossil Fuels
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OO Australia: Political Conservative Change Sweeps Away Climate Commission
OO Australia: An Uphill Battle To Rein In The Power Of Coal
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Ten Global Warming Indicators. Credit NOAA
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(((((((( Seeking the Science ))))))))
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OO Climate Case Overwhelming That Humans Drive Global Warming say IPCC scientists.
OO Warming Will Worsen Water Scarcity
OO Climate Change Could Kill Off Unique Andean Cloud Forests, home to thousands of species found nowhere else.
An American peat bog. Credit: Mary Ellen Harte
OO Management and Plants Are Key in Making Peatlands Effective Carbon Sinks
OO Oil And Gas Production Drives Arctic Ice Melt as flaring of natural gas contributes more than 40 percent of the sooty black carbon in the Arctic, raising new concerns, says a new study.
Credit USGS at flickr via Mother Jones
OO Human Fingerprints Visible In Atmospheric Changes
OO Antarctic Ice Shelves Melt Mostly From Below
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@@@ Climate Change in the Media @@@
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Via Climate Nexus
OO @@ WEEKLY CLIMATE CHANGE VIDEO SERIES!! @@ Entitled "In Case You Missed It" via the good folks at Climate Nexus on Vimeo - select headlines delivered in less than 90 seconds with good graphics. Cool watching -- spread the word!!
@@ At Last, a Green Radio Show to counter the Lush Bimbaugh wasteland. Check out On the Green Front with Betsy Rosenberg at Progressive Radio Network to keep updated on climate change, and other green topics.
!!!! Want to Save Energy & Help the Planet? Check out these helpful EPA Climate Change youtubers here! !!!!
@@Video: Name That Hurricane - After a Political Climate Denier, That Is - this generated millions of views and some controversy - but hey, let's not stop there! Let's start naming every extreme weather event that has likely been worsened by climate change after the nearest political climate change denying leader to the area affected.
@@ Video: America's Dangerous Pipelines - the title says it all; compelling ....
To help you understand just what science does and does NOT do, check this out!
Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by this butterfly I photographed a few months ago. Making the U.S. a global clean energy leader will ensure a heck of a lot more jobs, and a clean, safe future. If you'd like to join the increasing numbers of people who want to TELL Congress that they will vote for clean energy candidates you can do so here. It's our way of letting Congress know there's a strong clean energy voting bloc out there. For more detailed summaries of the above and other climate change items, audio podcasts and texts are freely available.
