Deadlock In Doha: Is Qatar Going To Be The Place Where International Agreements Go To Die?

Deadlock In Doha: Is Qatar Going To Be The Place Where International Agreements Go To Die?: pby Rebecca Lefton and Andrew Light This year’s UN climate negotiations have once again deadlocked.  Negotiators and observers in the hall are concerned that this meeting could end with no outcome, much like the long-stalled Doha trade negotiations.  We’re tracking the major sticking points in the three tracks of the meeting and make recommendations on [...]/p

What Are the Near-Term Climate Pearl Harbors? What Will Take Us from Procrastination To Action?

What Are the Near-Term Climate Pearl Harbors? What Will Take Us from Procrastination To Action?: p“So they [the Government] go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent…. Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest warnings, we have entered upon a period of danger….  The era of procrastination, of half measures, of [...]/p

Permafrost 101: Why We Need To Account For Thawing Ground In Climate Projections

Permafrost 101: Why We Need To Account For Thawing Ground In Climate Projections: pby Roz Pidcock, via Carbon Brief Melting permafrost in the Arctic could push the earth towards climate change that is “irreversible on human timescales”, according to a new report…. Here’s our quick guide to what you should know about melting permafrost. The report, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), says billions of tonnes of [...]/p

Tainted Fracking Research: Three Strikes And Yer Out

Tainted Fracking Research: Three Strikes And Yer Out: pby Tom Kenworthy The oil and gas industry frequently claims there has never been a proven case of hydraulic fracturing contaminating ground water. But not even the fossil fuel barons can claim it hasn’t contaminated academia. Last week, an independent investigation found that a University of Texas study concluding hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, poses no [...]/p

Doha Climate Summit Ends, Marking Start Of A Long March To 2015

Doha Climate Summit Ends, Marking Start Of A Long March To 2015: pby Andrew Light, Rebecca Lefton, Adam James, Gwynne Taraska, and Katie Valentine After a 48-hour marathon negotiating session, largely held behind closed doors, this year’s UN climate negotiations Qatar ended at approximately 9:45pm Saturday Doha time.  Like last year’s Durban climate summit, three distinct negotiating streams produced three overlapping but independent agreements The Kyoto Protocol [...]/p

Vote For A Carbon Tax!

Vote For A Carbon Tax!: pVote at the online U.S. News poll, “Is a Carbon Tax a Good Idea?” My colleague, Richard Caperton, Director of Clean Energy Investment at the Center for American Progress, is part of a U.S. News debate. Readers know my basic feeling about online polls (see “Memo to media, science museums, homo ‘sapiens’: Enough with the [...]/p

2012 Is The Hottest, Most Extreme Year In U.S. History

2012 Is The Hottest, Most Extreme Year In U.S. History: pVery warm November and early December assures record-breaking 2012 A warm November and record-breaking early December means 2012 will be the warmest year ever for the U.S. As Jeff Masters reports: …the U.S. heated up considerably in November, notching its 20th warmest November since 1895, said NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in their latest [...]/p