‘During an interview with HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” Friday, Steyer challenged the Kochs to a public debate on energy policy, the Keystone XL pipeline, subsidies for the oil industry and climate change.’

via Billionaire vs. billionaires? Tom Steyer challenges the Koch brothers to a climate debate – Salon.com.

‘WASHINGTON — ENERGY storage is crucial to transforming the electric grid into a clean, sustainable, low-emissions system, the experts say. And it’s happening already, just not the way most consumers would expect.’

via Ice or Molten Salt, Not Batteries, to Store Energy – NYTimes.com.

‘Li is one of hundreds of millions of Chinese farmers who are now using insurance as a tool to hedge against the risks of climate change. China is the world’s second-largest agricultural insurance market after the United States by premium income, and it is scrambling to spread the use of climate-related insurance into other sectors.’

via Millions of China’s Farmers Now Buy Climate-Change Insurance – Scientific American.

‘In November 2013, American climate scientist Richard Heede, of the Colorado-based Climate Accountability Institute, published a paper with a revolutionary thesis. After nine years of researching the energy industry in dozens of countries, he concluded that nearly two-thirds of the world’s carbon dioxide and methane emissions dating back to the dawn of the industrial era were the responsibility of just ninety companies. Heede called them the “carbon majors.”’

via Want to Stop Climate Change? Take the Fossil Fuel Industry to Court | The Nation.

‘When Hurricane Sandy pummeled the east coast of the U.S. and the Caribbean in October 2012 it exposed millions of people and billions of dollars worth of economic assets to the sorts of hazards that might be expected to increase as a result of climate change. An estimated 1.8 million structures and homes were destroyed or damaged, with economic losses exceeding $65 billion.’

via What Are the Economic Consequences of Climate Change? – Diana Liverman and Amy Glasmeier – The Atlantic.

‘Scientists at MIT and Harvard University have devised a way to store solar energy in molecules that can then be tapped to heat homes, water or used for cooking.’

via Scientists Discover How to Generate Solar Power in the Dark – Yahoo Finance.

‘While environmental groups and other stakeholders have been working hard to delay – if not derail- major pipeline projects like Keystone, oil companies have been working hard to find alternative ways to get their crude oil to market’

via Shipping oil by rail: A modern-day problem of social cost | Energy Economics Exchange.

‘BERLIN (AP) — After racing against the clock in an all-night session, the U.N.’s expert panel on climate change was putting the final touches Saturday on a scientific guide to help governments, industries and regular people take action to stop global warming from reaching dangerous levels.’

via UN climate report balances science and politics – Yahoo News.

‘David Cameron’s commitment to the green agenda will come under the fiercest scrutiny yet this week when top climate-change experts will warn that only greater use of renewable energy – including windfarms – can prevent a global catastrophe.’

via UN urges huge increase in green energy to avert climate disaster | Environment | The Observer.

‘Almost half of new electricity generation is now renewable, and the costs of wind and solar power are falling sharply. It “should give governments confidence to forge a robust climate agreement” next year, says Achim Steiner, director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).’

via Almost half of new electricity is now clean and green – environment – 07 April 2014 – New Scientist.