Today's Climate: October 3-4, 2009

Only 10 Days Left For Climate Deal, UN's Ban Says (Reuters)

UN head Ban Ki-moon warned on Saturday that negotiators had just 10 negotiating days left to secure a global climate deal and governments must not be hindered by domestic troubles.

Obama Pressured to Return to Copenhagen for Climate Talks (Bloomberg)

Pres. Obama's failure to land the Olympics on a visit to Copenhagen hasn't diminished pressure from environmentalists for him to return there this year on another risky mission: winning a global warming accord.

1,000 Mayors Agree to Cut CO2 Emissions (Los Angeles Times)

A thousand mayors have signed on to a pact to meet the Kyoto protocol targets for reducing CO2 emissions. They will also urge Washington and the states to cut emissions by 7% from 1990 levels by 2012.

Greenpeace Shuts Down Shell Oil Sands Mine (Ottawa Citizen)

Around 20 Greenpeace activists infiltrated Shell's Muskeg River Mine in Alberta, Canada, prompting the company to shutter its 155,000-barrel-a-day oil sands operation for several hours.

US National Parks Endangered by Climate Change (Christian Science Monitor)

A new report finds that some national parks may disappear due to sea level rise if emissions of CO2 are not cut significantly. Already, glaciers are expected to vanish from Glacier National Park within 15 years.

Walruses Suffer Substantial Losses as Sea Ice Erodes (New York Times)

Half a century after Pacific walruses began recovering from industrial-scale hunting, marine biologists are growing worried that they face a mounting threat from global warming.

Food Prices Could Skyrocket Almost 200% by 2050 from Warming (Business Standard)

The prices of food crops like wheat, rice and maize will rise between 121% and 194% by 2050 due to climate change, according to a new study by the the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Paging Dr. Tesla? Automaker to Make House Calls (AP) 

Taking a cue from house-call services like Best Buy's Geek Squad, electric carmaker Tesla Motors is launching a maintenance plan where mechanics travel to owners' homes or offices to perform repairs and tuneups.

Toyota Plans U.S. Retail Sales of Plug-In Prius Hybrid by 2012 (Bloomberg)

Toyota said it intends to begin offering the plug-in version of its Prius to U.S. consumers within three years. It was the first time the automaker provided a tentative date for consumer sales of the coming car.

Cyprus Unveils Mammoth Wind Farm (Reuters)

Cyprus has moved closer to reaching the EU's renewable energy target by 2020, with the birth of the island's first wind park, an 82-MW facility that will be the largest in the Mediterranean region when it goes live in 2010.

China Safety Crackdown Boosts Coal Imports (UPI)