Huge Alaska Oil Spill Blamed on Ice Plugs

Ice plugged an inactive pipeline, causing it to burst, officials said Tuesday in an attempt to explain how 46,000 gallons of crude oil spewed onto the tundra near a BP Exploration processing center at Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope

The Case of the Stolen Climate Emails

On Tuesday, November 17, the webmail server at the University of East Anglia was hacked and a file including over 1,000 emails sent from or sent to members of the Climatic Research Unit at the university was stolen. The emails were posted on several public websites, although the breaking into of computers and releasing private information is illegal, and posting private correspondence without permission is unethical.

India Pledges to Reduce Carbon Intensity

India will never accept legally binding emission cuts at Copenhagen, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told Parliament Thursday, but he did say the government plans to reduce India’s level of “emission intensity” by 20 to 25 percent compared with 2005 levels.

Purdue University Will Test Alternative Fuels for Aircraft

Purdue University will operate a new federally funded facility to test aircraft engines and develop alternative fuels for aircraft in an effort to reduce U.S. reliance on imported oil.

Cap and trade: more of the same?

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.

With the Copenhagen Climate Conference just around the corner, world leaders, environmentalists, and economists are all debating the best mechanisms by which we can combat global climate change while continuing to grow the world economy. Most of these discussions (though not all) center on the concept of “cap and trade.” If you’re a little fuzzy on the idea, or know it but have a tough time explaining it to others, you’re not alone: it’s fairly complex on its face, and presents policy makers with a range of choices for harnessing market forces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

United States and India Embark on a Green Partnership

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today reaffirmed the global strategic partnership between the United States and India and launched a new and greener phase in their relationship.

Tennessee Reinforces Dams Against Extreme Weather

The Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, is raising the elevation of four of its dams to help reduce the risk of flooding in the event of precipitation more extreme than any ever recorded in eastern Tennessee.

Green tech finds (10/15/09)

Today is Blog Action Day, and this year’s topic is climate change. As such, today’s finds will all relate to technology aimed at addressing this threat… enjoy!

• A no-brainer: Engineers have found one simple approach to addressing the release of methane into the atmosphere: seal natural gas well leaks.
  
  
• Sketching up energy management: Buildings are one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. The open-source tool Open Studio can now be plugged into Google’s SketchUp (a 3D modeling tool) to account for energy usage in the building design process. (via CNET Green Tech)
  
  

Global Aviation Industry Vows to Halve CO2 Emissions By 2050

To help limit climate change, the international air transport industry has made a commitment to cut its carbon emissions in half by 2050, compared to 2005 levels.

Time for a global warming wake-up call?

OK, quick quiz…

1. What’s the status of the ACES bill in Congress?
2. What’s happening in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 7-18?

If your answer to both questions was “I don’t know” (and “What the hell is ACES?”), you’re probably not alone. Here in the US, climate change and clean energy legislation has taken a back seat to the health care debate. Even as we approach the Copenhagen Summit, where the follow-up to the Kyoto Treaty should be rolled out, much of the world seems to have hit the snooze button on the climate crisis. Global alliance TckTckTck thinks it’s time for a wake-up call…

Fight climate change: eat more meat

Huh? Isn’t meat production one of the major causes of global warming? Well, yes… but according to Lisa Hamilton, author of Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness, eating meat raised under the right conditions can actually help mitigate climate change.

Global warming and art: what a difference five years makes…

Five years ago, activist, writer and professor Bill McKibben published an essay at Grist calling for artists to step up and address one of the most pressing issues facing humanity: climate change (The Day After Tomorrow and State of Fear just weren’t doing it for him). We don’t know if artists responded directly to McKibben’s call; we do know that we’ve seen much more creative work on global warming since then. Visual artists, musicians, and filmmakers have all engaged the subject, creating some compelling, thoughtful work.

Last week, Grist commemorated McKibben’s essay by launching a series on artistic creation that addresses climate change.

Waxman-Markey takes first step towards a cleaner, more efficient energy economy

Friday’s passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) signaled a definite shift in US policy towards energy use and climate change. Though the bill had its detractors — most notably Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and even progressive Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) — ACES, or Waxman-Markey, set new standards for clean energy adoption, energy efficiency, and, most notably, greenhouse gas emissions.

Yellowstone hotel gift shop educates shoppers on global warming, product footprints

Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel gift shop

Think of a hotel or tourist destination gift shop as a place full of cheap crap likely made by underpaid workers in the developing world? In most cases, you’re spot on. At Yellowstone National Park’s Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, though, concessionaire Xanterra Parks & Resorts is aiming for a very different kind of gift shop experience: one that educates shoppers on the effects of global warming, and the lifecycle of the gifts they purchase.

European Union leaders thank activists for pressure on global warming

“It was only thanks to your massive pressure over the past six months that we could so dramatically shift our climate-change policies…. To those who were arrested, we thank you.”

Ever heard such a statement from a politician? Me either. Yet, last week, EU leaders thanked European citizens who’d participated in months of non-violent direct action on the causes of global warming, and noted this activism had resulted in the political will to address climate change in a meaningful manner.

Earth Week Entertainment: “Swimming with the Polar Bears”

Lots of activities all over the US this week in celebration of Earth Day, but if you’re in New York, and looking for something to do after the recycling demonstrations and green product pitches, you may want to check out Swimming with the Polar Bears. In this one-man show, veteran stage actor Mel England (Israel [...]

Balancing renewable energy projects & public lands stewardship

America is on the verge of a renewable energy gold rush. Hundreds of applications for wind and solar projects have been filed on public lands. I think this is long overdue. We need sustainable energy to help us reduce global warming pollution, and we need it fast. But if we don’t handle this boom carefully, [...]

Who Cares How Subtle Nature Is? Where Is The Money?

After taking a tour of many videos about global warming on YouTube, one can feel very alone in believing something must be done to save the environment on earth. Most everyone tends to focus on the average temperature of the climate. While temperature can cause problems that directly affect human beings, it’s just the final [...]

FTC Announces New Energyguide Label

In trying to reverse the gradually escalating course of events that has sponsored the era of global warming, there are many tools, each with various drawbacks and benefits. Relying on billions of consumers’ choices is a very uncertain proposition, but with a little faith in the goodness of the human spirit, and the right tools, [...]