Today's Climate: January 22, 2010

Past Decade Warmest Ever, NASA Data Shows (New York Times)

The decade ending in 2009 was the warmest on record, figures released by NASA show. The agency also found that 2009 was the second warmest year since 1880, when modern temperature measurement began.

Blankenship, Kennedy Debate Coal's Future (Charleston Gazette)

Massey Energy President Don Blankenship and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday debated the future of coal and the science of climate change, agreeing on little but drawing still more attention to the issues that face the Appalachian coalfields.

U.S. Climate Bill Backers Seen Pushing Wrong Message (Reuters)

Most Americans want the jobs and clean energy that climate legislation could help bring, according to prominent U.S. pollster Frank Luntz. But the bill's backers have been emphasizing climate science too much and the potential positive results too little.

Warming Expected to Cut Atlantic Hurricane Tally but Boost Threat (Dot Earth)

The number of storms in the western Atlantic are expected to drop toward the end of the century, but the number of strong ones — those reaching Category 4 or 5 — are expected to double from today, a new study in Science said.

Australia Mulls Carbon Tax in ETS Absence (Carbon Positive)

The Australian government says it will consider a proposal by the Green Party for a carbon tax on big emitters as an interim measure in the absence of support for an emissions-trading scheme.

Venture Funding Stabilizes, Shifts to Biotech, Shuns Energy (Bloomberg)

Venture-capital funding for startup companies stabilized in the fourth quarter, with investor interest shifting toward drug development and away from clean energy, a new report said.

Cement, Glass Firms Agree to Add Pollution Controls (McClatchy Newspapers)

For the first time in the history of the Clean Air Act, the federal government has reached settlements that will require a glassmaker and a cement company to add pollution controls at all their plants across the country.

Indiana Senate, House Panels Approve 'Net Metering' Bills (AP)

A bill aimed at utility customers who install renewable power sources, such as wind turbines, is seriously flawed and would hurt Indiana's renewables movement, clean energy advocates told a state Senate committee.

Green Group Threatens Legal Challenge to Government's Nuclear Plans (Guardian)

Friends of the Earth has threatened to launch a legal challenge against the UK government over its "fundamentally flawed" plans to approve hundreds of new nuclear reactors, power plants, wind farms, electricity lines and pipelines.

India May Start Renewable-Energy Credits Trade in May (Bloomberg)

India may allow power companies to start trading renewable-energy credits in May, in a push to create a multibillion-dollar market to encourage greenhouse gas cuts.

Ontario Says Samsung Deal to Make It Green Leader (Reuters)