Climate Change News

(KTCSG)

• EPA issues regulations for CO2 sequestration. This article has some interesting information about the US's capacity for deep underground storage of CO2 - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/epa_carbon_storage  The big question is whether or not it is feasible.  http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2036 
• The Post and Courier has come out with a strong editorial backing action on the climate change front - http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/jul/18/face_up_global_warming47922/?print
• Al Gore calls for the US to generate all of its electricity from non-carbon sources in 10 years. See - http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008249.html and http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/the-annotated-gore-climate-speech/ 
• So it's now official, the US government says that climate change poses "substantial" threats to human life and welfare in the coming decades.  I think that this was the EPA report that the OMB refused to look at (by not opening the email it was in) and which remained in email limbo for months. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/17/AR2008071701557.html.  For the full report got to http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-6/final-report/
• The Independent sponsored a contest for climate change cartoons.  Here's a link those considered the best - http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/no-words-.htmlssary-the-cartoonists-tackle-climate-change-859017.html
• Several countries are considering or have adopted an innovative shift to low-cost electric cars.  Here's the link to this very interesting article - http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/ministers-embrace-electric-car-revolution-872393.html
• The American Physical Society, contrary to some reports, has not changed its position on global warming.  They still maintain that "The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring." - http://www.livescience.com/environment/080718-aps-gw.html
• Will the North Pole loose all its ice this summer? Some people think so - http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-scientists-warn-that-there-may-be-no-ice-at-north-pole-this-summer-855406.html - but the overall extent of sea ice is greater than at this time last year and the pattern of sea ice retreat this summer is different - http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
• We have previously noted the thorny issues associated with biofuels.  This summer the Pew Center on Global Climate Change released a report on the current state of play for biofuels: the technologies used in their production, their GHG emissions, and associated policy issues. - http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/BiofuelsFINAL.pdf