News Roundup
‘Imposing a $20 per metric ton carbon tax in the U.S. could reduce the country’s budget deficit by 50 percent over the next 10 years, a report by the Congressional Research Service said on Tuesday.’
via U.S. carbon tax could halve deficit in 10 years: report | Reuters.
‘Driven by the Obama administration’s vision of clean power and energy independence, the rush to build large-scale solar plants across the Southwest has created an investors’ dream in the desert.’
via Taxpayers, ratepayers will fund California solar plants – latimes.com.
‘NUUK, Greenland — With Arctic ice melting at record pace, the world’s superpowers are increasingly jockeying for political influence and economic position in outposts like this one, previously regarded as barren wastelands.’
via Arctic Resources, Exposed by Warming, Set Off Competition – NYTimes.com.
‘Arctic glaciers grew rapidly in response to sudden climate change 8,200 years ago, a new study finds.’
via Glaciers Morph Lickety-Split as Climate Changes – Yahoo! Weather.
‘WASHINGTON–The chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that the shut-down San Onofre nuclear station in California will remain offline for months while the agency reviews Southern California Edison’s assessment of the plant’s problems.’
via San Onofre nuclear plant to be offline for months – MarketWatch.
‘California surpassed a major milestone during a recent heat wave, hitting more than 1,000 megawatts of solar power generation.’
via California ISO marks 1,000-megawatt solar milestone – Business – The Sacramento Bee.
‘Africa is in the midst of an epic elephant slaughter. Conservation groups say poachers are wiping out tens of thousands of elephants a year, more than at any time in the previous two decades, with the underground ivory trade becoming increasingly militarized.’
via Africa’s Elephants Are Being Slaughtered in Poaching Frenzy – NYTimes.com.
‘(Reuters) – Planes or airships could carry sun-dimming materials high into the atmosphere for an affordable price tag of below $5 billion a year as a way to slow climate change, a study indicated on Friday.’
via Sunshade to fight climate change costed at $5 bln a year | Reuters.
‘Large volumes of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – could be locked beneath the ice-covered regions of Antarctica, according to a new study.’
‘Today, the National Snow and Ice Data Center announced that the annual summer retreat of Arctic Ocean sea ice had reached a new low for the 33-year satellite era of careful monitoring (1.58 million square miles, or 4.1 million square kilometers), and there is still another week or two of melting before the typical summer ice minimum occurs.’