Alarming Declines in World's Biodiversity Documented in New WWF Report. By Jeremy Lovell, Reuters, May 16, 2008. "World biodiversity has declined by almost one third in the past 35 years due mainly to habitat loss and the wildlife trade, the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF) said on Friday. It warned that climate change would add increasingly to the wildlife woes over the next three decades. 'Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives so it is alarming that despite of an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downtrend trend,' said WWF campaign head Colin Butfield. 'However, there are small signs for hope and if government grasps what is left of this rapidly closing window of opportunity, we can begin to reverse this trend.' WWF's Living Planet Index 2008 [PDF, 16 pp] tracks some 4,000 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and amphibians globally. It shows that between 1970 and 2007 land-based species fell by 25 percent, marine by 28 percent and freshwater by 29 percent."

Not Much Help for the Polar Bear. Editorial, NYTimes, May 18, 2008. "Boxed into a corner by the courts and its own scientists, the Bush administration agreed last week to place the polar bear under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The decision was the clearest official acknowledgment that the bear, its hunting grounds diminished by shrinking summer ice, is seriously at risk... It is not clear that the decision is much of a victory for the bears. The listing appears to offer only modest new protections. United States law already bars the killing of bears. The listing will also prohibit the importing of hides or other trophies from bears killed in Canada. It does nothing to address the gravest threats to the bears' survival: oil and gas drilling and global warming... Using the Endangered Species Act to shape climate policy, he said, would be 'wholly inappropriate.' The act -- designed to protect specific animals from chain saws, bulldozers and, yes, oil rigs -- probably should not have to carry the burden of solving global warming. But President Bush has denied the problem for so long, refusing to offer serious remedies... It is little wonder that people are tempted to grab at any lever. This leaves the polar bear much as before: living precariously in a changing world, and facing the added stresses of exploratory drilling with no real protection."

U.S. Listing Will Put Pressure on Canada to Do More. By Martin Mittelstaedt, Toronto Globe and Mail, May 15, 2008. "[The U.S. classification of the polar bear as threatened]... will have ramifications in Canada by blocking the import into the U.S. of bear skins and other body parts from animals killed by U.S. trophy hunters. It will also put pressure on Ottawa to offer similar protection. Canada currently gives polar bears its lowest level of protection -- a designation of being of 'special concern,' which requires no practical actions to safeguard populations. Environment Minister John Baird told reporters yesterday that he'll consider tougher action, if a scientific review to be finished by August recommends it... Although the U.S. government now views the species as threatened, the future of the polar bear is likely to be determined in Canada, where about two-thirds of the estimated global population of between 20,000 and 25,000 [polar bears] live."

A Warming Hudson River Supports Fewer Fish Despite Improving Water Quality. By Jim Fitzgerald, AP, May 15, 2008. "A report that shows long-term declines for 10 species of Hudson River fish has spawned a campaign to attack a variety of possible causes. The environmental group Riverkeeper announced Thursday that it would take aim at power plant fishkills, invasive species, overfishing and other threats as part of a Hudson Fisheries Defense Campaign. The group's president, Alex Matthiessen, said at a riverside news conference that Riverkeeper, which has worked for decades to improve the Hudson, was surprised by the grim findings of a study it commissioned from Pisces Conservation Ltd, a British consultant. 'We might have been resting on our laurels a bit,' he said. The report, an analysis of data gathered by power companies, found that despite a significant improvement in the Hudson's water quality, 10 of the 13 species it studied show population declines since the mid-1970s. One fish, the rainbow smelt, has not shown up on the surveys at all in recent years, it said. The report suggested a variety of causes including global warming -- the river is 3.6 degrees warmer -- and the invasion of the zebra mussel. It also blamed the five power plants that take in billions of gallons of river water each day -- with countless doomed fish -- as a coolant."

Zones of Death Are Spreading in Oceans Due to Global Warming. By Jonathan Leake, London Times, May 18, 2008. "Marine dead zones, where fish and other sea life can suffocate from lack of oxygen, are spreading across the world's tropical oceans, a study has warned. Researchers found that the warming of sea water through climate change is reducing its ability to carry dissolved oxygen, potentially turning swathes of the world's oceans into marine graveyards. The study, by scientists from some of the world's most prestigious marine research institutes, warns that if global temperatures keep rising there could be 'dramatic consequences' for marine life and for humans in communities that depend on the sea for a living."

Atmospheric CO2 Hits 387 Parts Per Million. Metro (UK), May 13, 2008. "[Scientists at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii announced that] the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached its highest level in human history... pouring into the sky even faster than it did during the second half of the previous century. There are now 387 parts per million of CO2 in the air, the highest figure for 650,000 years... [and] just a few years from what many scientists regard as the tipping point of 400ppm. It raises renewed concerns over the Earth's diminishing ability to soak up pollution and means targets for cutting emissions need to be revised drastically... Last year, the rise was 2.14ppm, while from 1970 to 2000 the concentration rose by an average of about 1.5ppm each year... Prof Andrew Watson, from the University of East Anglia, said up to 30% of the rise could be [attributed] to the weakening of the Earth's natural carbon sinks -- the oceans and rainforests."

Comprehensive Study Bolsters Link Between Warming and Changes in Nature. By Emma Marris, Nature News, May 15, 2008. "A comprehensive analysis of trends in tens of thousands of biological and physical systems has provided more evidence to bolster the near-universal view that man-made climate change is altering the behaviour of plants, animals, rivers and more. The study by an international research team featuring many members of the IPCC, is a statistical analysis of observations of natural systems over time. The data, which stretch back to 1970, capture the behaviour of 829 physical phenomena, such as the timing of river runoff, and around 28,800 biological species... In around 90% of cases where an overall trend was observed, it was consistent with the predicted effects of climate warming, the researchers report in this week's Nature... [Cagan] Sekercioglu [of Stanford University who studies bird ranges] is impressed by the scope of the study, but says that there was already a wealth of evidence... 'We shouldn't even need to publish such papers at this point,' he says. 'This paper is an argument that climate change is causing the observed changes. This should be a given. Thirty years later we are still trying to convince people of this.' [Cynthia] Rosenzweig [of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and the study's lead author,] sees those 30 years differently. It was about 30 years ago that... Goddard... began work on climate-change models. 'Less than 30 years after the fist model was developed, we are working on... [the successor to the Kyoto Treaty, which will expire in 2012]. I think that the global-warming issue is the [biggest] challenge facing our planet, but at the same time it is leading us to sustainability because of the rapidly growing action. It is finally shaking us up and getting us to realize what is going on with the planet.'"

Saudis Say No to Bush on More Oil But Sign New Nuclear Energy Agreement. By Terence Hunt, AP, May 18, 2008. "President Bush failed to win the help he sought from Saudi Arabia to relieve skyrocketing American gas prices Friday... Bush got a red-carpet welcome to this desert kingdom, home to the world's largest oil reserves, and promised to ask King Abdullah to increase production to reduce pressure on prices, which soared past $127 for the first time Friday. But Saudi officials said they already were meeting the needs of their customers worldwide and there was no need to pump more. Their answer recalled Bush's trip to Saudi Arabia in January when he urged an increase in production but was rebuffed... Early this week, Senate Democrats introduced a resolution to block $1.4 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia unless Riyadh agreed to increase its oil production by 1 million barrels per day... Bush's visit was billed as a celebration of 75 years of U.S.-Saudi relations, though they have been frayed by Arab perceptions that Washington favors Israel too much in the dispute with the Palestinians, the Iraq war and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks... The two countries used the occasion of Bush's visit to sign new agreements. Among them was an agreement for the U.S. to assist the kingdom in developing civilian nuclear power."

The Oily Truth About America's Foreign Policy. Commentary by Gideon Rachman, FT, May 18, 2008. "With the oil price heading upwards and President George W. Bush [huddling with Saudi King Abdullah], as part of a Middle Eastern tour, it is time to accept the truth. The pursuit of oil is fundamental to US foreign policy. The importance of oil to American foreign policy is both obvious and curiously difficult to acknowledge in public. In the run-up to the Iraq war it was left to the left to make the argument that this was a 'war for oil.' Establishment people -- those in the know -- rolled their eyes at this 'conspiracy theory.' Yet in recent months, both Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Senator John McCain have come close to saying that Iraq was indeed about oil. In his memoirs Mr Greenspan said he regretted that it was 'politically inconvenient' to acknowledge that 'the Iraq war is largely about oil'... However, if the invasion of Iraq was partly motivated by oil, it was a failure -- in this respect, as in many others. In 2003, just before the invasion, the oil price was $26 a barrel. Today it is $126 a barrel, with reputable analysts discussing the prospect of $200 oil by the end of 2008... While western politicians routinely worry about globalisation, they have yet to focus on a more plausible threat. It is not the outsourcing of well-paid jobs; or the inflow of cheap goods: it is the globalisation of western patterns of consumption. If the Chinese and Indians eventually eat and drive like Americans and Europeans, the current inflation in fuel and food prices could be just the beginning. The environmental implications are also obvious -- and alarming... The only plausible routes to 'energy security' lie at home in the US -- in the development of new technologies and in a change of lifestyles. Americans may have to drive their cars less. But it will be a brave presidential candidate who says that.."

Bush Calls for More Domestic Oil Production. By Russ Britt, Market Watch, May 17, 2008. "Rebuffed in his attempt to get Saudi Arabia to boost oil production, President George Bush on Saturday called for more aggressive domestic exploration for fossil fuels. In a brief meeting with reporters in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, Bush said the Saudis have increased production by 300,000 barrels a day so far this year, but that needs to be augmented by domestic oil exploration. The U.S. is asking that the Saudis ramp up production by 1 million barrels a day. 'Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration,' Bush said. 'Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy, and continue our strategy for the advancement of alternative energies, as well as conservation.'"

Germany Debates Subsidies for Solar Industry. By Mark Landler, NYTimes, May 16, 2008. Thanks to its aggressive push into renewable energies, cloud-wreathed Germany has become an unlikely leader in the race to harness the sun's energy. It has by far the largest market for photovoltaic systems, which convert sunlight into electricity, with roughly half of the world's total installations. And it is the third-largest producer of solar cells and modules, after China and Japan. Now, though, with so many solar panels on so many rooftops, critics say Germany has too much of a good thing -- even in a time of record oil prices. Conservative lawmakers, in particular, want to pare back generous government incentives that support solar development. They say solar generation is growing so fast that it threatens to overburden consumers with high electricity bills. Solar-energy entrepreneurs warn that reducing incentives will deprive Germany of its pole position in an industry of the future. As proof, they point to the United States and Japan, which were once solar stars but have faded as their government subsidies became less enticing."

Small-Town Portuguese Mayor Becoming Renown for Promoting Solar Energy. IPS, May 13, 2008. "He is mayor of one of Portugal's smallest and poorest municipalities. But his perseverance in using solar energy to drive development in his region has brought José Maria Prazeres Pós-de-Mina attention from the rest of the country and from other members of the European Union. Mayor since 1998 of a pioneer municipality that will soon house the world's largest solar energy station, Pós-de-Mina sees no contradiction between his academic background in business management and his position as a leader of Portugal's Communist Party, which has deep roots in the southern region of Alentejo, the least developed part of the country. Six years ago, 'the mayor of the future,' as he is frequently referred to, even in other European countries, founded the Amper Central Solar SA company to put into practice his initiative, taking up the challenge launched by European Union authorities to meet the bloc's immense energy needs in a more sustainable, efficient and ecological fashion. In 2006, he sold Amper to the Spanish company Acciona SA, a world leader in renewable energy sources. The municipality of Moura, which encompasses the town of that name and eight villages, has a population of just 16,500."

Two 50-Megawatt Solar Power Plants Planned in Spain. By Michael Graham Richard, Tree Hugger, May 13, 2008. "It was only a couple months ago that we wrote about Torresol's plans to build 3 new solar thermal power plants in Spain (price tag: $1.24 billion). The good news keep rolling in and now it is Acciona Energia's turn to announce a 500 million euros investment (about $775 million) into 2 new solar thermal plants in Palma del Río, Cordoba, in southern Spain. Each will have a capacity of 50 megawatts and together they should be able to power 75,000 homes, or 244 million kWh a year. They should be operational in 2010. The plants will cover the area of about 260 hectares, or 364 soccer fields, comprising 1,520 solar collectors and a truly mind boggling 364,800 mirrors which will focus the sun's rays into the collectors."

Wind Farms in Upstate New York Gain Acceptance. By Andrea VanValkenburg, Plattsburg Press-Republican, May 17, 2008, "[Saturday's] official ribbon-cutting ceremony... marked the completion of the Clinton and Ellenburg windparks. Noble Environmental Power Chief Executive Officer Charles Hinckley said there are now 122 fully commissioned 400-foot turbines between the two parks. When the projects began about three years ago, many people feared they would bring adverse noise and environmental impacts. But, Hinckley said, the final result has 'quieted down almost all of the dissent… 'A lot of the issues really slowed down once they (the turbines) were up and people could see them for themselves. And I think there's a wide degree of acceptance now.' The $360 million investment has created jobs and will help to reduce taxes while generating enough clean energy to power 60,000 homes and bringing an estimated $231 million in revenue to the rural economy over the next 20 years. Clinton Town Supervisor Michael Filion said the project has 'been a long process, but well worth the effort. And now it's time to reap the benefits.'"

Minnesota Power Buys Power Line for Wind Energy. By Carissa Wyant, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, May 14, 2008. "Minnesota Power will shift spending away from coal-based electricity to wind power and buy an $80 million transmission line as part of an effort to use more renewable energy, the company said Tuesday. The company has plans to buy a power line owned by Square Butte Electric Cooperative, for approximately $80 million in early 2009. That line would link Minnesota Power's current network with the windy North Dakota plains, but it's currently used to deliver electricity from a coal plant in Center, N.D. The company also detailed that it plans to phase out a long-term contract to buy coal-based electricity from that plant. In addition, Minnesota Power said it will add several hundred megawatts of wind generation near Center."

Go with Wind, DOE Says. By David R. Baker, SFChron, May 13, 2008. "Windmills spinning over the Great Plains and along the coasts could supply 20% of U.S. electricity by the year 2030 and put a significant dent in greenhouse gas emissions, federal officials said Monday. Although wind farms now generate just 1% of the nation's electricity, a new report from the U.S. DOE found that wind power could play a far larger role in the future. It could supply roughly the same percentage of the nation's power as nuclear plants provide today. 'There are those who say it is marginal and always will be, and yet the statistics say otherwise,' said Andy Karsner, [of] DOE... 'First of all, it's doable, and second of all, it's desirable,' said Dan Arvizu... [of] the National Renewable Energy Laboratory." [For brief review of DOE's report, see Rich Sweeney's post at CommonTragedies.com.]

Nissan Announces Plans for Electric Car. By Dustan Dwyer, NPR, May 14, 2008. "Nissan Motor Co. announced plans Tuesday to build an electric car by 2010, part of what the automaker says is a strategy to make it the global leader in 'zero-emission' vehicles. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, who unveiled the plan at a news conference in Tokyo, says the company will mass produce electric cars within the next five years. He laid out a simple case for the vehicles: The number of people buying cars around the world is increasing, while the need to reduce emissions is becoming more urgent... The company will have... [the] electric cars on the road in two years for government fleets in the U.S. and Japan, Ghosn says. The cars will be in mass production by 2012. Nissan has not announced a specific model that will be mass produced."

Booze-to-Fuel Cars. Posted by Caroline McCarthy, SmartPlanet.com, May 12, 2008."[E-Fuel founder Thomas] Quinn and his fellow executives recently unveiled the EFuel100 MicroFuelerin New York. It looks like a cross between a gas pump and an old-fashioned refrigerator, it'll cost $9,995, and it'll be available for customers in the fourth quarter of 2008 (if all goes well). What is it, exactly? It's a home ethanol refinery. Connect it to a power source and a water source, add sugar 'feedstock' and yeast or discarded alcohol (yes, that could mean your cheap leftover booze from the sunny weekend) and in a week it can produce 35 gallons of ethanol that Quinn says any car can run on... E-Fuel's executives... [say] that its sugar-based ethanol won't hurt food prices because sugar is a surplus crop, and that sugar ethanol is inherently more efficient than corn. And it's safe to make at home, because no combustion is involved. (We can't help but wonder, however,where the sugar's coming from.)"

McCartney 'Furious' Over Lexus Hybrid Hypocrisy. Daily Mail, May 13, 2008. "Sir Paul McCartney was today said to be furious after [a new hybrid Lexus LS600H that was given to him] was flown 7,000 miles from Japan [on a jet]... [The former Beatle's] efforts to help save the environment were frustrated by the fact that the air journey created 38,050 kilograms of CO2 instead of the 297 kilograms [it would have if it had come]... by boat. According to CO2balance.com, it was the equivalent of driving the car around the world six times."

The 'Clean Coal' Marketing Machine Keeps Rolling. By Diane Silver, Salon, May 15, 2008. "Maybe you missed the newspaper ads and billboards warning that turning away from coal could mean blackouts, unemployment and higher electric bills. These... variations on the coal-is-great theme are flooding the nation... The [so-called 'Clean Coal' campaign]... has kicked into high gear as prospects for new plants have turned bleak... Coal's message has been carried by an ever-morphing conglomeration of nonprofit organizations that all work out of the same Alexandria, Va., office and use the same staff. The Center for Energy and Economic Development (working 'on behalf of coal's interests') begot Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (promoting coal, but [now] also 'proponents of wind, solar and nuclear'...). The two merged on April 17 to become the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, or 'ACE'... All three... have been funded by the biggest names in coal and related industries... In April, Barack Obama acknowledged a voter sporting one of the industry's hats at a campaign stop in Dunmore, Penn., and then used the industry's own terminology to talk about his support for investing in carbon storage research. In an appearance in Charleston, W.Va., Hillary Clinton also used the industry's own words to pledge her support for doing the same... However, none of [the three presidential candidates] supports a moratorium on building new coal-fired plants. Meanwhile, the Clean Coal marketing machine keeps rolling."

Rolling in the Black, for Now. By Jane M. Von Bergen, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 15, 2008. "All night and day, trains rumble through the hills and valleys of Greene County [Penn.], where coal is king and the rails carry away the crown jewels, 42 million tons of black bituminous a year, now fetching double its price of just two years ago. No other county in Pennsylvania produces more coal than Greene, population 39,808, about an hour's drive southwest of Pittsburgh. And few places feel coal's impact like this county...[where] sometimes mining companies buy up whole hamlets to avoid dickering with homeowners over damage."

'No Such Animal as Clean Coal'. Reuters, May 13, 2008. "In a bid to draw voters ahead of Democratic primaries in West Virginia today and Kentucky on May 20, both [Senators Obama and Clinton] are playing up the ascendant role of commercially untested and so far economically nonviable ways of converting America's plentiful coal supplies into [clean] electricity... 'We need some big investments right now in figuring out how to capture and store carbon dioxide from coal,' Clinton [said]... Not to be outdone, Obama's campaign has distributed flyers in Kentucky stating that 'Barack Obama believes in clean Kentucky coal'... Candidates' support for clean coal indicates a tension between their need to bring along delegate-rich coal states... and their global warming platforms. 'There is no such animal as clean coal,' said Brent Blackwelder... [of] Friends of the Earth... 'We need to be looking at getting rid of coal plants'... But 'Big Coal' states are not to be ignored... As the Democratic presidential process comes down to the wire, coal plays prominently in three of the six remaining primaries including Montana on June 3." On Coal, Obama, Treat Them Like Adults. Posted by David Roberts, Grist, May 11, 2008. "West Virginia and Kentucky... [are] the second and third highest coal-producing states... Facing this... what should Obama do? Clinton showed with the gas tax farce that there is no pander to 'hard-working Americans, white Americans' too crass or desperate... Should Obama try to keep up? Should he... [promise] that he'll take care of Big Coal, and Big Coal will take care of them? He's already doing so in Kentucky. Maybe there's another way, though. His response to Clinton's gas tax proposal was to reject it as a Washington gimmick... Why not try the same thing in W.Va. and Ky... by telling the truth... [that,] as president, he would stop the expansion of dirty coal."

Climate Bill Will Create $150 Billion in New Assets Its First Year. By Marc Gunther, Fortune, May 15, 2008. "A climate-change bill that has widespread support as it heads to the Senate floor will create an estimated $150 billion of new assets in the first year it takes effect. Between now and 2050, regulating greenhouse gases could easily generate $3 trillion worth in value in the U.S. Should that value go to utility companies, electricity customers who will face rising rates, government investments in new technology or tax cuts? Or should it be returned to all Americans? That question is being debated vigorously by energy companies, politicians and environmental groups. Next week, an influential coalition of big companies and green organizations called the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (U.S. CAP)… will take [the issue] up [as Congress considers the climate change bill]... Essentially... John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, leading Democrats and moderate Republicans in Congress, dozens of Fortune 500 CEOs, and mainstream environmental groups all agree that a so-called cap-and-trade system to regulate greenhouse gases is needed... That, by itself, is remarkable... [But] ask where that money should go, and the consensus breaks down. Coal-burning utilities say they should be given the permits for free... Others, including candidates Obama and Clinton, say all the permits should be auctioned -- why reward the polluters, they ask? Still others want auctions so that proceeds can be used for a variety of causes, ranging from investments in renewable-energy... to middle-class tax cuts to paying down the federal debt... U.S. CAP is deeply divided over the issue."

Nuclear Energy Subsidies in Lieberman-Warner Bill Draw Criticism. Press Release, Beyond Nuclear, May 15, 2008. "The leaders of six national environmental and public interest groups warned today that the impending Lieberman-Warner climate change bill could contain at least $544 billion in taxpayer subsidies for nuclear energy. This would represent the biggest federal handout in history for the nuclear industry, already the most heavily subsidized energy sector over the past 50 years. The Lieberman-Warner bill is expected to be on the Senate floor in early June. According to an analysis conducted by Friends of the Earth, the bill contains close to half a trillion dollars that can be accessed by the nuclear energy industry."

NOAA Chief Urges Creating National Climate Service. By Randolph E. Schmid, AP, May 13, 2008. "With concerns about global warming rising along with the planet's temperature, the head of the federal agency in change of weather research and forecasting is proposing creation of a new National Climate Service. Conrad C. Lautenbacher said Tuesday a climate service within his agency could combine data from the research and analysis work done by several agencies, as well as coordinate climate information for the government... Lautenbacher said the White House has signed off on 'the idea' of a climate service, and he said he plans to seek funds to help organize it in the 2010 budget."

As Ice Retreats, U.S. Military Eyes More Northern Border Patrols. By Lolita C. Baldor, AP, May 12, 2008. "As the Arctic ice cap shrinks, the Pentagon is eyeing the expanding navigable waters as possible entry points for security threats that must be monitored more closely... Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart [chief of the U.S. Northern Command], said in an interview with AP on Friday, 'Last year, during the summer months, where the ice had retreated we began to see some tourist ships, cruises, in the region... That traffic increase has coincided with greater international interest in potential energy resources in the Arctic, prompting more exploration. All of this has implications that there could be security concerns.'"

McCain Distances Himself from Bush on Climate. By Elisabeth Bumiller, NYTimes, May 14, 2008. "Senator John McCain intensified his criticism of President Bush and the administration's environmental polices on Tuesday, taking a walk in the cold, rain-drenched foothills of the Cascade Mountains [in Washington state] and asserting that in the effort to stem climate change, 'America can lead and not obstruct'... McCain... declared that 'the president and I have disagreed on this issue for many years'... 'There is a longstanding, significant, deep, strong difference on this issue'... McCain was on his second day of a trip to the Pacific Northwest, a potential swing region in the November election, to promote his plan to slow global warming and appeal to the region's many independent voters."

McCain Threads the Language Needle on Climate. By Stephen Power and Laura Meckler, WSJ, May 13, 2008, subscription. "In a last-minute move highlighting the delicacy of climate-change politics, John McCain on Monday decided not to utter a line in a prepared speech suggesting he would as president penalize industrializing countries that refuse to commit to reducing their greenhouse-gas emissions. Instead, Sen. McCain told an audience in Portland, Ore., that he would pursue 'effective diplomacy, effective transfer of technology or other means' to compel reductions by countries that refuse to cap their emissions. An advanced copy of his remarks distributed earlier in the day used tougher language, calling for 'a cost equalization mechanism' to apply to countries that don't enact caps -- a punishment that some say amounts to a tariff... A spokeswoman... said he decided against using the original language... to ensure that his remarks were 'not interpreted as being at odds with his commitment to open trade,' and to make clear that he would use 'diplomacy and technology solutions to make sure the economic playing field remained fair.'"

Don't Be Fooled by Windmills in the McCain Photo-Op. Posted by Joseph Romm, Grist, May 12, 2008. "Conservatives like John McCain... are the main reason [he] has to go to a Danish wind turbine manufacturer to give a climate speech. With the major government investments in wind in the 1970s, the U.S. was poised to be a dominant player in [the industry]... But conservatives repeatedly gutted the wind budget, then opposed efforts by progressives to increase it, and repeatedly blocked efforts to extend the wind power tax credit... The U.S. is now a bit player in an industry we launched (we had 90% of global installed capacity in the mid-1980s) -- thanks to conservatives, including McCain. In December, McCain himself failed to show up for a key vote that would have extended the wind power production tax credit, which has been a key driver of wind power in this country... McCain's vote could have broken the conservative filibuster blocking the effort to support renewables... but his spokesperson said that 'he would not have supported breaking the filibuster.' This was but one recent example of a series of missed votes or anti-renewable votes McCain has cast in recent years."

Ted Turner Promotes Green Restaurants. By Bruce Horovitz, USA Today, May 18, 2008. "Ted Turner, the media mogul turned philanthropist, now wants to be known as... a guy whose restaurants leave a smaller carbon footprint on the environment. Which is why you won't find a plastic straw or cup in any of Ted's Montana Grills' 55 casual dining restaurants. The straws are made from biodegradable paper. The menus are printed on 100% recycled paper. Even the cups are cornstarch... Turner is helping to fund a green restaurant initiative that the powerful National Restaurant Association will unveil Monday at its annual convention in Chicago. The purpose: to nudge owners of the nation's 945,000 restaurants to think about controlling energy use and waste creation."

One Country's Table Scraps, Another Country's Meal. By Andrew Martin, NYTimes, May 18, 2008. "Grocery bills are rising through the roof. Food banks are running short of donations. And food shortages are causing sporadic riots in poor countries through the world. Grocery bills are rising through the roof. Food banks are running short of donations. And food shortages are causing sporadic riots in poor countries through the world. You'd never know it if you saw what was ending up in your landfill. As it turns out, Americans waste an astounding amount of food -- an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption, according to a government study -- and it happens at the supermarket, in restaurants and cafeterias and in your very own kitchen. It works out to about a pound of food every day for every American."

Famine Looms as Wars Rend Horn of Africa. By Jeffrey Gettleman, NYTimes, May 18, 2008. "There has been a collision of troubles throughout the region: skimpy rainfall, disastrous harvests, soaring food prices, dying livestock, escalating violence, out-of-control inflation, and shrinking food aid."

Farmers Unable to Cash in on Soaring Food Prices. By Jerry Hirsch, LATimes, May 13, 2008. "All over the world, prices for basic foods -- barley for beer, milk for cheese, corn for tortillas, and the rice that serves as a staple for more than half the world's population -- are soaring. But farmers aren't rushing to cash in on the boom by planting more of the crops. The amount of corn planted in the U.S. is expected to dip this year. Rice acreage in California, which sells as much as half its crop overseas, is predicted to increase by only a small amount. Instead, farmers are planting cheaper-to-grow wheat and soy. They say the reason is simple. The cost of planting some crops is rising as fast as their prices, and sometimes faster, leaving little incentive to increase production of some foods that remain in high demand around the world."

Sami People (Laplanders) Issue Plea for Help. By Emily Dugan, London Independent, May 10, 2008. "Olav Mathias-Eira is a reindeer-herder. So was his father. And his father's father. He is a member of the Sami community, one of the largest indigenous groups remaining in Europe, and his family have been herding reindeer in the same stretch of the Norwegian Arctic since the 1400s. But, because of climate change, their lifestyle, unchanged for centuries, is now at risk. So Mr Mathias-Eira, 50, has travelled to Britain to issue an urgent plea in the hope that his people and livelihood can be saved... The Sami community, one of the largest indigenous groups remaining in Europe... The Sami live across northern Europe, in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia. There are believed to be only 100,000 left... Sami have lived in the same northern region of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia for more than 2,500 years. Their traditional livelihoods include fishing, trapping for fur and reinder herding. The Sami were previously known around the world as 'Lapps,' or Laplanders."

A New York Bottled Water Paradox: Banned, and Required. By Jim Dwyer, NYTimes, May 14, 2008. "After two years of extremely heated debate that included references to ecology, history, geography, and the politics of selling or buying mass-produced cupcakes, the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn voted at the end of last month to discontinue the sale of bottled water. It comes to about 670 gallons of water per week. Just as the co-op (membership: 13,966) has been selling its last few ounces of designer water, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital is very quietly going into its third year with signs posted over every sink in one of its newest buildings that say: 'Do not drink the water. Use bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, or taking medication.' This translates to bottles of water by the tens of thousands, every year. So at one end of town they have banished tap water; 18 miles away, they've banned bottled water."

Not As Green As They Claim to Be. By Beth Daily, Boston Globe, May 14, 2008. "Consumers in the United States are expected to double their spending on green products and services in the next year to an estimated $500 billion, according to an annual consumer survey by Landor Associates... Marketers, some environmentalists and marketing specialists say, are merely tapping into people's desire to feel like they're saving the earth -- but not sacrificing their lifestyle... There is virtually 'zero enforcement,' said Scot Case of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, a consulting company based in Philadelphia and Ottawa. Last year, his company conducted a study that found that 99 percent of 1,018 green advertising claims of everyday consumer products could be misleading."

Backlash Against Energy Exploration Hurting Republicans in West. By David Sirota, NYTimes, May 18, 2008. "Nearly two decades ago, Republicans won the West by linking Democrats to environmentalists, who supposedly cared more for the spotted owl and other favored species than they did for the jobs of loggers or miners. But now, as a boom in natural-gas drilling reshapes the region, Western Democrats have found success recasting environmentalism as a defense of threatened water supplies, fishing spots and hunting grounds. As a result, the party may hold the advantage this fall in the region's key Congressional races. The simultaneous rise of Western energy production and the Western Democrat is no coincidence."

Christian Leaders Launch Campaign to Halt Climate-Change Action. Grist, May 16, 2008. "Conservative religious leaders have launched a We Get It! campaign that just goes to prove that saying something doesn't make it so. The campaign aims to gather a million signatures on a petition opposing climate-change action, with the argument that tackling global warming will hurt the world's poor. 'Our stewardship of creation must be based on Biblical principles and factual evidence,' says the petition. 'We face important environmental challenges, but must be cautious of claims that our planet is in peril from speculative dangers like man-made global warming.' The campaign is in large part a response to the Evangelical Climate Initiative, which urges climate-fighting legislation and notes that global warming ain't exactly going to be a party for the impoverished. So far, the We Get It! petition has less than 100 signers, but those include such climate-savvy luminaries as Focus on the Family Chair James Dobson and Sens. James Inhofe and Tom Coburn (both R-Okla.)."

Environmental News Rare on Front Page of NY Times or WS Journal. Posted by Jeremy Hance, Mongabay.com, May 9, 2008. "The Project for Excellence in Journalism has released a study examining the front pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal from December 13, [2007] through March 13, 2008. The report found that both [papers] essentially buried environmental stories, as environmental news for both papers made up only 1% of the total front page. The New York Times focused primarily on domestic elections and politics with more than one in four front page stories on these issues: 26.5% to be exact. The Wall Street Journal focused mostly on foreign news at 25.4%. Both... had more front-page stories on sports/entertainment/lifestyles than on the environment... the lack of... [which] perhaps contributes to why Americans view environmental issues... as less important than that of Australians and Chinese [who, respectively,] in a recent poll... named the environment their [first and]... fourth highest concern. An ABC News/Wall Street Journal [poll] taken in March placed the environment as number 7 out of 8 issues for Americans. However the poll was unique, since most polls in America don't include the environment as an option."

Chinese People Reject Beijing's Position on Emissions. By Steven Kull and Doug Miller, Pasadena Star-News, May 13, 2008. "A new University of California study says that China has overtaken the U.S. as the largest emitter of [carbon dioxide]... China's defense is that it is still growing its economy and that on a per-capita basis it still produces less than a fifth of what the U.S. [does]... A 2007 BBC World Service Poll... found that the Chinese public rejects its government's position that it has no responsibility to limit its emissions... Majorities of both Chinese (70%) and Americans (59%) agree that... 'it is necessary to take major steps [to mitigate climate change] starting very soon.' They are also ready to take tough steps... But how to address the fact that there is still this imbalance between the developed and developing countries? Here again the publics in China and America agree on a way out."

Brazil's Environment Minister Resigns Amidst Controversy Over the Amazon. By Peter Muello, AP, May 13, 2008. "Environment Minister Marina Silva resigned Tuesday, ending an often stormy six-year term that put her in conflict with developers in the Amazon rain forest. Silva did not say why she was stepping down... But Sergio Leitao, director of public policy for Greenpeace in Brazil, said the minister is leaving because the pressure on her for taking the measures she took against deforestation has become unbearable. 'Brazil is losing the only voice in the government that spoke out for the environment,' Leitao said. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva picked Carlos Minc, the environment secretary for Rio de Janeiro state, to be the new national environmental minister, according to the government's official Agencia Brasil news service. The president's office has yet to comment on Marina Silva's resignation."

Brazil Launches 'Sustainable' Amazon Plan. Mongabay.com, May 15, 2008. "The Brazilian government will use cheap loans, payments, and other benefits to encourage Amazon farmers to reduce their impact on the Amazon rainforest, under a plan unveiled last week. Brazil says the Sustainable Amazon Plan will create jobs, generate economic growth and reduce social inequalities for the more than 23 million people living in the Amazon by promoting sustainable development schemes and improving infrastructure to integrate the region into the broader economy. Critics say the plan's emphasis on port and road expansion will facilitate more deforestation -- Environment Minister Marina Silva resigned shortly after the plan was announced."

Prince Charles Urges Climate Action to Prevent 'Drought and Starvation on a Grand Scale'. By Graham Tibbetts, Telegraph (UK), May 16, 2008. "Prince Charles said rainforests provided the 'air conditioning system for the entire planet,' releasing water vapour and absorbing carbon, but were being lost to poor farmers desperate to make a living. Safeguarding them would cost the international community around $30 billion (£15 billion) a year and require a 'gigantic partnership' of governments, businesses and consumers, he told BBC [on Thursday]. 'What we have got to do is try to ensure that these forests are more valuable alive than dead. At the moment, there is more value in them being dead,' he said... Although companies are seeking ways of using technology to capture carbon emissions, the prince said concentrating on the rainforests would be more effective. 'If we can halt deforestation, what these rainforests do in absorbing carbon is infinitely more effective and cheaper to achieve than trying to indulge in all these very expensive technologies,' he said."

In Myanmar, Destruction of Mangroves Amplified Flooding and Devastation. By Andrew C. Revkin, NYTimes, May 18, 2008. "The destruction of huge areas of coastal mangroves around the Irrawaddy River delta in Myanmar in the last few decades amplified the flooding and worsened devastation there, according to a report and images released Thursday by the Food and Agriculture Organization. People have been pushing in closer to the coast, and the combination of dense new settlements and deforestation for fish ponds and farmland set the stage for the disaster, said Jan Heino, the F.A.O.'s assistant director general for forestry. The same trend is evident around the world, he added. Over all, the area of the Irrawaddy delta covered in mangrove forests has been halved since 1975. Wood harvesting has also reduced the density of the forests. 'Healthy mangrove forests are particularly good at reducing the force of waves because of the resistance provided by stilt roots as well as the trees' trunks and branches,' the report said."

World Tree Planting Drive Sets Goal of 7 Billion. By Alister Doyle, Reuters, May 14, 2008. "A campaign to plant trees worldwide set a goal on Tuesday of seven billion by late 2009, just over one for each person on the planet, to help protect the environment and slow climate change. The U.N. Environment Program (UNEP), an organizer of the tree planting drive begun in late 2006 with an initial goal of a billion by the end of 2007, said governments, companies and individuals had already pushed the total above 2 billion. It set a target on Tuesday of an extra five billion plantings by the time a U.N. climate conference in Denmark starts on Nov. 30 next year that is meant to agree a new long-term treaty to combat climate change beyond the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol. 'In 2006 we wondered if a billion tree target was too ambitious; it was not,' said Achim Steiner, head of UNEP. 'The goal of two billion trees has also proven to be an underestimate. The goal of planting seven billion trees, equivalent to just over a tree per person alive on the planet, must therefore also be do-able,' he said in a statement."

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