Today’s Climate: November 11, 2009

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EPA: Dangerous Mercury Levels Found in Fish in Half of US Lakes (AP)

Fish in 49% of U.S. lakes and reservoirs contain potentially harmful levels of mercury, the EPA found in a new study. The Obama administration is working on new regulations for mercury emissions from power plants and cement plants.

Climate Takes Back Seat at APEC Meeting (Reuters)

With little prospect of any new climate change initiatives emerging at an APEC meeting in Singapore this weekend, the climate agenda might instead focus on liberalizing trade in green goods and services.

Ban Ki-Moon Urges Senate to Speed up Climate Effort (McClatchy)

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Senators in Washington and urged them to save international climate talks next month by speeding up work on a climate and energy bill.

Sen. Lugar: ‘I Don’t See Any Climate Bill I Can Support’ (Washington Post)

One of the key Republican senators involved in the global warming debate on Capitol Hill said the Senate will have to "start from scratch" on climate legislation.

WWF: China’s Yangtze Basin Threatened By Climate Change (China Daily)

WWF said climate change over the next 50 years would inflict more potentially disastrous weather on the basin, an economic powerhouse and the site of the country’s largest port and city, Shanghai.

ACCCE Angers Veterans With Pro-Coal Veterans Day Message (Huffington Post)

“In a move that should offend every American, they’re using Veterans’ day to promote their agenda — an agenda that threatens to put more brave men and women into harm’s way in the future," says a veterans’ group.

W.Va. Politicians Vow to Speak in Single, Pro-Coal Voice (AP)

Several dozen of West Virginia’s top political leaders, including its Congress members, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with coal executives, vowing to create a united front to protect the industry.

UK Plans CCS Levy to Fund Coal Power (London Times)

The UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change said uncertainty over the commercial viability of CCS means public support might have to continue beyond 2030. A levy to pay for it is likely to start in 2011 and be about £17 a year per household.

Cave Study Links Climate Change To California Droughts (Science Daily)

A study of stalagmites shows California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic.

New Ways 
to Boost Solar Development (Yale Environment 360)

The solar power boom has been fueled by government subsidies. But now some U.S. states — led by New Jersey — are pioneering a different approach: issuing tradable credits that can be sold on the open market. So far, the results have been promising.

Mid-Atlantic Governors Commit to Offshore Wind (Capital News)

The governors of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware agreed to a partnership to encourage the deployment of offshore wind energy in the region, hoping to capitalize on the region’s enormous wind resources.

Can the World Reach a Deal on Climate Change? (New York Times)

The New York Times asked world leaders and other stakeholders, from Al Gore to Duke Energy’s James Rogers, to predict the outcome of the Copenhagen climate talks. A look at the responses.

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