Senate’s Climate Bill a Bit More Ambitious (Washington Post)
Climate legislation took a small step forward as Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer released a version that includes big benefits for farmers, provisions for deficit reduction and a ceiling on carbon prices.
Sen. Boxer on US Climate Legislation (Huffington Post)
According to CBO’s estimate, if we act now to address global warming and invest in clean energy, the economy 40 years from now may be about 249% bigger, instead of 250% bigger, and it will get to 250% a few months later, Sen. Barbara Boxer writes.
UN: Public Finance Could Scale Up Climate Investment (Reuters)
Public finance could stimulate private investment in climate change solutions in developing countries, a report today by the United Nations’ Environment Program shows.
DOE Unveiling $151M for Scientists on the Edge (New York Times)
The Department of Energy will make good on a pledge for a bolder technology strategy today, awarding research grants for ideas like bacteria that will make gasoline, enzymes that will capture CO2 and batteries so cheap they will allow solar power use all night.
Poland to Sign CO2 Deal with Spain, Ireland (Reuters)
Poland plans to sell $60 million of surplus greenhouse gas emission rights to Spain and Ireland, the country’s first such government to government deal under the Kyoto Protocol, its environment minister says.
World Bank: Livestock Overlooked in Climate Talks (EurActiv)
Greenhouse gases from the lifecycle and supply chain of animals raised for food account for 51% of annual emissions caused by humans and should be given higher priority in global efforts to fight climate change, World Bank Group experts argue.
EU Leaders Seek Treaty, Climate Change Deals (Reuters)
European Union leaders hope to reach a deal at a summit this week removing the last obstacles to a treaty to give the bloc more global clout, but they face a battle over funding for a global climate agreement.
Western State Lawmakers Stress Energy Cooperation (AP)
Western state lawmakers are gathering in Wyoming this week to get coordinated on energy issues. Some also want to show a united front when it comes to federal legislation that could dampen the U.S. appetite for coal.
WV Legislature Repeats Coal’s Frustration with EPA (MetroNews)
"We didn’t change any of the standards or reduce any," the West Virginia House speaker says. "We just cut out some bureaucratic red tape to reduce the delay so these businesses can keep going.”
Appalachian Conference Focuses on Renewable Energy (AP)
Appalachian leaders meet this in search of ways alternative energy initiatives could ignite the region’s sluggish economy. The conference will focus on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind and the green jobs they could bring.
German Coal Country Reinvents Itself (eTN)
An eastern German region devastated by decades of strip mining is trying to reinvent itself with renewables and a new form of ecotourism.
Fleeing Drought in the Horn of Africa (Los Angeles Times)
A look at the crisis caused by climate change in Africa through the eyes of displaced people in a camp near the Kenya-Somalia border that was built for 90,000 and now houses three times that number.
Solar Power Gives Andean Villages New Lease on Life (Reuters)
Llama-herding communities in the Andes have relied on firewood to cook and to heat their mud-brick homes for centuries, leading to deforestation and soil erosion. Now one village is cooking its lunches on solar-fired stoves and installing solar-heated showers.
Electric Vehicles Charging Up Automotive Industry (Los Angeles Times)
A dozen all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles are expected to hit the market in the next three years. They promise to combine blinding fuel efficiency, radical new technology and futuristic styling.
