News Roundup
‘In the wake of the failed Copenhagen summit, prospects for cutting global CO2 emissions are worse than they’ve been in years. With talk of mandated cuts now fading and with countries exploiting loopholes, the world appears headed toward a flawed agreement based not on science but on politics.’
via A Grim Outlook for Emissions As Climate Talks Limp Forward by Fred Pearce: Yale Environment 360.
‘(Reuters) – Congress on Wednesday took major steps to rein in Big Oil’s offshore drilling practices, as one Senate panel voted to lift all caps on liability in oil spills and another moved to deny offshore leases to companies with poor track records.’
via Senate panel votes to end oil spill liability cap | Reuters.
‘Working climate scientists are almost unanimous in their view that the earth is slowly warming up and that human activity, particularly the combustion of fossil fuels, is the primary cause. But beneath that surface unanimity, predictions vary about how much the planet will warm in the future because of rising greenhouse gases.’
via Why Climate Stumps Even the Brightest Scientists – Green Blog – NYTimes.com.
‘Russia Reuters – Russia on Wednesday took a big step toward the controversial creation of the world’s first floating nuclear power station, putting a barge that will house the plant into the water.’
via Russia floats barge for waterborne nuclear plant | Reuters.
‘For some, the most worrisome thing about geoengineering is the idea that, once people know about it, they will think of it as a technological quick fix that makes it unnecessary to control emissions of greenhouse gases, an effort everyone takes pains to point out is by far the most important step to be taken now.’
via Books on Science – When the Day After Tomorrow Has Come – NYTimes.com.
‘Meat producers should use certain antibiotics only to assure animal health and stop using the drugs to increase production and promote growth, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday.’
‘ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Polar bear policy in America can be summed up succinctly: The iconic bears are threatened with extinction, and so far nothing much is being done.’
‘Reuters – The United States would send a positive signal by passing domestic legislation to fight global warming ahead of U.N. climate talks in November, the EU’s climate chief said on Monday.’
‘…Yes, organic methods sequester more carbon dioxide than conventional ones. But the ultimate culprit behind agriculture-driven climate change isn’t carbon dioxide. Instead, it’s methane and nitrous oxide—two gasses conspicuously absent from the Rodale study. Agricultural production in the U.S. accounts for only 7 percent of overall carbon dioxide emissions. By contrast, it accounts for 19-25 percent of methane emissions and 70-75 percent of nitrous oxide emissions. Methane, according to the EPA, is 23 times more potent a GHG than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is 310 times as potent.’
via Organic Agriculture: A Solution to Global Warming? – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com.
‘Alberta Reuters – A judge found Syncrude Canada Ltd, Canada’s largest oil sands producer, guilty on Friday in the deaths of 1,600 ducks that landed on a toxic Northern Alberta tailings pond in 2008, ruling the company should have had deterrents in place.’
via Syncrude guilty in 1,600 duck deaths in toxic pond | Reuters.