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Archive for January 18th, 2013
Will Obama punt again on climate change?
Posted by Politico: Andrew Restuccia on January 18th, 2013
Politico: Lofty words alone won't heal the Earth, but climate activists are still looking to President Barack Obama's inaugural speech on Monday for any sign that their cause has a place in an increasingly cluttered second-term agenda.
But here’s the reality check for the green movement: Obama has proposed no new strategy on climate, it’s unclear if one is in the works, and there’s no guarantee the issue will occupy a major place in the inaugural address or next month’s State of the Union. On alternative...
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Obama’s Climate Challenge
Posted by Rolling Stone: None Given on January 18th, 2013
Rolling Stone: Among all the tests President Obama faced in his first term, his biggest failure was climate change. After promising in 2008 that his presidency would be "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal," President Obama went silent on the most crucial issue of our time. He failed to talk openly with Americans about the risks of continuing to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, failed to put political muscle behind legislation to cap carbon pollution, failed...
Pressure mounts on Obama to decide Keystone XL’s fate
Posted by Globe and Mail: Paul Koring, Shawn McCARTHY and Josh Wingrove on January 18th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Battle lines are drawn and both sides claim Barack Obama's long-deferred decision on a massive pipeline project that would funnel Alberta's oil sands crude to U.S. refineries will show whether the President will pick energy security or bold action on climate change as his second-term legacy.
The Harper government and the oil industry on both sides of the border champion the project, claiming it will create thousands of jobs and wean the United States off uncertain Middle Eastern oil.
Environmentalists...
John Kerry’s investments include pro-Keystone Canadian energy firms
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
Canadian Press: John Kerry's expected cakewalk to the U.S. State Department has delighted American environmentalists due to his stand on climate change, but the longtime senator owns stock in two Canadian oil companies that have pushed for approval of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline.
Federal financial disclosure records show Mr. Kerry has investments of as much as $750,000 (U.S.) in Suncor, a Calgary-based energy company whose CEO has urged the U.S. to greenlight TransCanada's controversial project.
The...
As State Department nears completion of Keystone XL review, both sides dig in
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson on January 18th, 2013
Washington Post: The State Department is close to completing a draft of an environmental review that will help determine whether President Obama approves the Keystone XL pipeline, as environmental and energy industry groups sought to bolster their position with new information.
Pipeline opponent Oil Change International released a report Thursday saying that estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands development have failed to include the full emissions from a byproduct of refining oil sands crude --...
New Western governor sets his sights on climate change solutions
Posted by LA Times: David Horsey on January 18th, 2013
LA Times: When we were classmates at Ingraham High School in Seattle, Jay Inslee was quarterback of the football team and a key player on the state champion basketball squad. I was a fledgling cartoonist and editorial writer on the student newspaper. On Wednesday afternoon, as I watched Inslee shoot hoops with his buddies under the new backboard he had just put up on his garage, it struck me that some things have not changed. It was still basketballs for him, cartoons for me.
But, in truth, the change is...
Vietnam and Cambodia tell Laos to stop $3.5bn Mekong river dam project
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
Guardian: Vietnam urged Laos to halt construction of a $3.5bn (£2.2bn) hydropower dam on Mekong River pending further study, environmental activists said on Friday. Cambodia, downriver from the Xayaburi dam, accused Laos of failing to consult on the project, activists said. The Mekong River commission (MRC), made up of member states Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, held a three-day meeting in northern Laos to discuss river development projects. The dam in northern Laos, the first of 11 planned for the...
Extreme Climate Events Create Synchronized Population Fluctuations
Posted by redOrbit: April Flowers on January 18th, 2013
RedOrbit: Scientists have known that climate change affects the population dynamics of single species, such as reindeer or caribou, but the effects of such climate change at the community level have been much harder to document and quantify.
A new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has found that extreme climate events cause a synchronized population fluctuation among all vertebrate species in a relatively simple high arctic community. The findings, published in a recent...
Drought Points Up Critical Role of Waterways
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
New York Times: When people think of the Mississippi River, they might have visions of Mark Twain and old steamboats. But few Americans understand the vast amounts of shipping traffic that still makes its way up and down the river, part of the world’s largest navigable inland waterway.
As I write in The Times, a Midwestern drought has caused the dwindling of the mighty river in recent months. The phenomenon cannot necessarily be ascribed to climate change – no individual weather event can be.
Still, shifting...
Experts Urge Caution As $50 Billion In Sandy Aid Passes House
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
National Public Radio: The House of Representatives passed a bill this week to spend $50 billion to help states struck by Hurricane Sandy. The action comes more than two months after the storm, and the measure now goes to the Senate.
The delay outraged politicians and residents from the Northeast, who blamed Washington for playing politics with desperately needed aid. But some scientists and engineers say there's danger in rushing ahead to rebuild a coastline that's sure to get hit again.
Tough talk in the House...