At a time when many are adopting the narrative that carbon markets are faltering, the European Union (EU) is aggressively pursuing the expansion of theirs to include aviation. One of only two mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade systems in the world, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) plans to fold in a (more…)

This short piece will certainly not help the reader gain any greater understanding of the United Nations: its strengths, weaknesses, successes and failings. I’d love to get my wits wrapped around the UN, largely regarded, I believe, as insufficiently aggressive in taking action into pressing world (more…)

Climatologist Raymond Bradley has come out fighting in his new short book Global Warming and Political Intimidation: How Politicians Cracked Down on Scientists as the Earth Heated Up. It’s a lively albeit sobering narrative which recounts his and others’ experience of harassment, character assassination (more…)

A consortium of scientists has compiled a database that categorizes millions of traits for nearly a quarter of the world’s plant species, a resource they say will help researchers more accurately model the effects of climate change in different environments.

The project, known as TRY, has so far compiled (more…)

Warming temperatures could significantly impact some of America’s premium wine growing regions within three decades, including counties in California that produce some of the nation’s most expensive wines, according to a new Stanford University study.

In Northern California, researchers predict, the (more…)

Today, with more and more discussions about global warming, the transportation industry has been under scrutiny, especially air transportation. The airlines industry has been majorly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. The International Air Transportation Industry has been launching a (more…)

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is recommending that 888,000 acres of public lands in Montana’s Crown of the Continent ecosystem receive federal wilderness protection to prevent habitat loss for species most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including wolverines, bighorn sheep, bull (more…)

The title piqued my curiosity: Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence. Christian Parenti’s book is about what he calls “the catastrophic convergence”, when the dislocations of climate change collide with already-existing crises of poverty and violence. He points to evidence, often in (more…)

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a global warming lawsuit against five big power companies, its most important environmental ruling since 2007 and a victory for the utilities. The utilities — American Electric Power Co Inc, Southern Co, Xcel Energy Inc, and Duke Energy Corp, along with TVA — account for about 10 (more…)

Water is one of our planet’s most precious resources. It is ubiquitous: we drink it, wash with it, swim in it, and sail on it. We also use it to produce things like food, paper, and cotton clothing, among others.

But what is “virtual water?” Is it invisible? Sort of. But it is equally – if not more – omnipresent. (more…)