Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Weather, Water, Energy 11-14-06

Quick hits today, with special contributions from Terra Daily, which should be a daily stop of yours if you're into the topics here:


  • Looks like a drought insurance program to help poor nations facing weather destruction is working and may be expanded.
  • The head of the International Energy Agency says energy alternatives alone won't solve our problems and that efficiency efforts and carbon conservation are the only short-term solutions.
  • The idiot PM of Australia has backed off opposition to carbon trading plans, as long as they can be implemented without hurting his country's economy (good luck with that).
  • Maybe he got the word from the "depression" facing the rural areas of his nation.
  • Maybe he'll get interested in creating more forests, which seems to work and has already had an impact.
  • Squeezing the toothpaste tube in Canada. Turns out that global warming will likely affect water resources there, making it hard to maintain hydroelectric power or development of oil sands.
  • Remember that carbon tax that Boulder, CO voters had a voice on last Tuesday. It passed.
  • At least China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia cushion us from being the very bottom of the worst nations on global warming. Sweden's at the top of the 56 countries graded by Climate Action Network-Europe. Of course, the way the Busheviks total it up, we're really doing well.
  • Good news in WI--a new "water czar" position to start policy deliberation. Bad news in WI--they can't do anything to hurt the WI economy. Jeez, don't we have one too many Australias the way it is?